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^ FIRST LESSONS 



IN 

AMERICAN HISTORY 



BY 

LA WTO N B. EVANS, A.M. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, AUGUSTA, GA. 



oi) nbXX aXXa noXh 



BENJ. H. SANBORN & CO. 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



! 



Copyright, 1910, 

BY 

LAWTON B. EVANS 



:"l 



(gGI.Aa61290C 



Stanbopc ipress 

F. H. GILSON COMPAN"' 
BOSTON. U.S.A. 



INTRODUCTION 



The author of this book has endeavored to meet the demand for 
a simple history of America, suitable for children of ten to twelve 
years of age, many of whom study no other text on the subject. 
In order to present a book of the most value the narrative treats 
of men whose influence has been controlling in the destiny of the 
nation, but does not make of their lives a series of hero stories. 
The facts of their lives and incidents of their careers are pre- 
sented in sufficient fullness to reveal their personal traits and aid a 
pupil to understand their contributions to the current of events. 
The facts that are presented in the text are those which appear 
most important for a child to know. It is sincerely hoped that the 
style of the narrative is simple enough for pupils of the fourth or 
fifth grade to read with ease and attractive enough for them to 
read with pleasure. 

The author cheerfully acknowledges his indebtedness to those 
who have furnished illustrations for this volume: the Departments 
of the Navy and Treasury; the Singer Manufacturing Company; 
the Panama Canal Commission; the Wright Brothers; the New 
York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads; the Cunard Steamship 
Company; Messrs. Harris & Ewing, photographers, Washington; 
the Moffett Studio, Chicago, for photographs; Gordon A. South- 
worth, Editorial Critic, Miss Adele W. Jones, the special artist of 
Messrs. Sanborn & Co., and to the many friends who have aided 



iv INTRODUCTION 

him in perfecting the text and adapting it to school use, and sub- 
mits to the profession this story of America with the hope that the 
children who use it may have an abiding love for the noble tradi- 
tions of their forefathers and an increasing pride in the greatness 
of our common country. 

LAWTON B. EVANS 
Augusta, Ga. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS 

Lesson P^oe 

1 . Christopher Columbus 1 

2. Isabella Agrees to Help Columbus 4 

3. The First Voyage of Discovery 7 

4. The Return to Spain H 

5. Last Voyage of Columbus 14 

6. John Cabot. — Americus Vespuccius 16 

7. Balboa. — Magellan 18 

8. Ponce de Leon Explores Florida 21 

9. The Adventures of Narvaez 23 

10. De Soto Discovers the Mississippi River 26 

11. CoRONADO Searches for the Seven Cities 30 



THE ENGLISH COLONIES 

12. Sir Walter Raleigh and the Lost Colony 34 

13. The Settlement of Jamestown 37 

14. Pocahontas, the Indian Princess 40 

15. Progress of Jamestown 43 

16. Nathaniel Bacon and His Rebellion 47 

17. The Settlement of Plymouth 49 

18. More About Plymouth 53 

19. Exiles from the New England Colonies 55 

20. John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians 59 

21. King Philip's War 61 

22. The Settlement of New Amsterdam 64 

V 



vi CONTENTS 

Lesson Pagh 

23. New Amsterdam Becomes New York 67 

24. Lord Baltimore and the Colony of Maryland 70 

25. William Penn and the Colony of Pennsylvania 73 

26. Penn's Treaty with the Delawares 76 

27. The Carolina Colonies 79 

28. James Oglethorpe and the Colony of Georgia 83 

29. The Spanish Invasion of Georgia 87 

HOW THE FRENCH LOST AMERICA 

30. Marquette Explores the Mississippi 91 

3L The French Claim Louisiana 95 

32. Washington Takes a Message to the French 99 

33. Braddock's Defeat 102 

34. James Wolfe Captures Quebec 105 

35. Life in the Colonies 109 

36. Customs in the Colonies 112 

37. Discomforts in Colonial Days 116 

38. Slavery in the Colonies 119 

HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION 

39. Patrick Henry 122 

40. Samuel Adams 125 

41. The Minute-Men at Lexington 129 

42. General George Washington 134 

43. Attack on Charleston. — Declaration of Independence . . . 138 

44. Trials and Triumphs of the Patriots 142 

45. Marion and Sumter 146 

46. The End of the War 149 

47. Benjamin Franklin 153 

48. Daniel Boone Moves into Kentucky 157 

49. George Rogers Clark 161 

50. Robertson and Sevier 165 



CONTENTS 



vu 



THE UNITED STATES 

Lesson Page 

51. Organizing the Government 169 

52. Eli Whitney Invents the Cotton Gin 173 

53. Thomas Jefferson 177 

54. Stephen Decatur Punishes the Pirates 180 

55. Purchasing and Exploring Louisiana 184 

56. Robert Fulton Perfects the Steamboat 187 

57. The War of 1812 193 

58. Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans 197 

59 Progress and Improvements 200 

60. Henry Clay 207 

61. Daniel Webster • 212 

62. John C. Calhoun 216 

63. Morse Invents the Electric Telegraph 221 

64. Texas Becomes a Part of the United States 225 

65. We Acquire the Pacific Slope 230 



HEROES OF THE CIVIL WAR 

66. Abraham Lincoln 235 

67. Jefferson Davis . . . '. 241 

68. Stonewall Jackson 244 

69. Robert E. Lee 249 

70. Ulysses S. Grant 253 

71. The End of the Civil War 258 



A REUNITED PEOPLE 

72. After the War 263 

73. Progress of the Country 266 

74. The War with Spain 270 

75. Recent Events 275 



SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER 



The child's interest in history depends upon the vividness of 
his conception of the men and events of the past. He is con- 
cerned largely with concrete and dramatic incidents and is careless 
of the abstractions of history. The author readily recalls the de- 
light with which as a boy he listened to the stories of ''the war" 
told by a teacher who had been a soldier, and what a relief it was 
to escape the dull recital of the text-book. That in the past which 
a child is led to see is history; all else is weariness and vexation. 

The text therefore should be amplified by the teacher with abun- 
dant illustration, such as stories, descriptions, pictures, and objects 
gathered from all available sources in order to attract the attention, 
stimulate the imagination, and fix the memory. For this purpose 
the teacher should prepare for the teaching of each lesson. A num- 
ber of supplementary books are easily available, covering in detail 
nearly every phase of American history. These may be read to or 
by the pupils or used by the teacher as a basis for story work. 

The author suggests that the lesson for the day be read by the 
pupils in class, the meaning of the text explained if necessary, the 
essential points be brought out in a discussion, and the pupils in- 
duced to make a free and full expression of their opinions on all 
subjects pertinent to the lesson. In this way the real spirit and 
essence of the topic may be concentrated around some one definite 
statement that represents the central idea of the lesson. From this 
general discussion and preparation the teacher advances to a study 
of the lesson by definite questions in order to test the knowledge 
of each pupil. In conjunction with this the pupils should be asked 



SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER ix 

to summarize the lesson, to choose the one important fact, tell the 
most interesting fact, etc., in order to vary the kind of questions 
and stimulate both thought and expression. 

A high degree of interest may be developed in the study of his- 
tory by such recreations as impersonations, in which one pupil 
assumes a character and describes himself until the others guess 
his name; by the game of twenty questions, in which one pupil 
thinks of some historical object and the others seek by questions 
to discover the object thought of; by cards, each containing a ques- 
tion to be distributed to the class on the basis of rapid answers by 
individual pupils, and by any other recreation that partakes of the 
nature of a game. 

Children take special interest in the conditions of life among the 
Indians, early settlers, pioneers, and in the ways of living in colonial 
times. Any dramatization, representation, stories or pictures of 
early conditions, especially those showing the struggles of the set- 
tlers against the Indians and against the hardship of the frontier, 
are valuable as illustrating the trials endured by the founders of 
the nation. 

The celebration of certain anniversaries gives an opportunity 
to emphasize the character and services of great men and to con- 
sider anew historical events that are worthy of constant recogni- 
tion. Upon such occasions the use of patriotic poems, songs and 
recitations, the decoration of the walls with appropriate pictures, 
and short talks on the subject of the anniversary will make the 
occasion memorable. 

History has a close relation to geography. The teacher should 
ever bear in mind that the child has a clearer conception of an 
occurrence if the location is shown on a map or if a drawing is 
made on the board for the purpose. History also has its relation 
to literature, especially to poetry, and the child gets a more de- 
lightful insight into the romantic side of history bv the use of the 



X SUGGESTIONS TO THE TEACHER 

noble poems of the language that bear upon the topics under dis- 
cussion. 

If teachers remember that the text is not to be memorized, that 
the questions at the end of the chapters are not to be too much 
depended upon, that the pupils are not to be confused with need- 
less details of dates and numbers, and that the successful teaching 
of this text will depend largely upon the interest and care in pre- 
paring and presenting the lessons, the author feels confident the 
pupils will derive great benefit and inspiration from the study of 
these pages. 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN 
HISTORY 



DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS 



LESSON 1 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
Nearly five hundred years ago in Genoa (Gen'o-a), 
Italy, lived a poor man who made his living by cardmg 
wool for the cloth- makers of the town. His EariyUf. 
eldest son, whom we know as Christopher of^coium- 
Columbus, was born in Genoa about the year 
1436 The boy loved the sea, and often sat on the 
docks and watched the ships come in and go out and 
heard the sailors tell about their wonderful adventures. 
When fourteen years of age the boy became a 
sailor. His life was full of danger and hardship for 
there were pirates to be fought and the terrors of the 
sea to be faced. He was a student as well, and learned 
all about ships, and the stars, and distant countries 
which travelers could reach only by going overland. 

Among these countries were India and China, far to 
the east Travelers had said that in them were pal- 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



aces paved with gold, and gardens laden with spices 
and perfumes. To reach these lands merchants had 
to travel in caravans weary miles over des- 
erts where they were tortured by thirst, and 
across mountains infested with robbers. The 
journey was long, expensive, and dangerous. 
Merchants greatly desired a seaway to India and 



^--#^:^'-- 



The mer- 
chants de- 
sire a sea- 
way to 
India 




China. The known world 
at that time consisted of 
Europe and parts of Asia 
and Africa. All the great 
country in which we live 
was quite unknown. 

Most people at that time 
thought the world was flat. 
A few wise men, however, 
believed it was round. 
Columbus had come to 
that belief, and said that the way to prove it was 
to sail around the world. Besides settling this great 
question, he might gain riches and honor for himself 



He sat on the docks and watched 
the ships 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 



and for the merchants if he could discover a short way 
to India and the East. 

Everybody made sport of this idea. It seemed an 
absurd notion that a ship could sail down the other 
side of the sea. What was to keep it from coiumbus 
falling off the earth, and how could people made sport 
live with their heads downward, and besides, 
how could a ship ever sail up again? Then, too, there 
were the terrible monsters of 
the deep, and boiling waves 
and fierce storms awaiting any 
one who sailed far into those 
dreaded seas. 

Columbus was declared a 
dreamer. But firm in his belief he 
went from place to place, spend- 
ing all his money and using all his 
powers of persuasion in trying 
to induce kings and wise men to 
help him make a voyage around the world. Nobody 
would listen to him long. At length he became very 
poor, and even the children in the streets made fun 
of him, saying: '^ There goes the crazy stranger with the 
threadbare coat.^' 

QUESTIONS 
When and where was Columbus born? How did his father 
make a living? How did the young boy show his love for the 
sea? When did he become a sailor? Of what was his life 




Christopher Columbus 



4 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

full? Of what did he learn? Of what countries did he learn? 
What did travelers say of them? Why did the merchants 
dread the journey to these lands? What did the merchants 
desire? Of what did the known world consist at that time? 
What was thought by most people to be the shape of the earth? 
What did a few wise men believe? W^hat did Columbus 
say? What was thought of the plan of Columbus? What 
did people think of him, and what did he do? What did 
even the children say of him? 



LESSON 2 
ISABELLA AGREES TO HELP COLUMBUS 

At last Columbus came to the court of Spain and 
applied to Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen 
of that country. They examined his maps and charts 
and listened to his arguments proving that the world 
was round. He asked them for ships and men, that he 
might undertake the great voyage. 

Ferdinand was opposed to the project. He had spent 
much money in war, and did not care to waste any 
Ferdinand ^^^^ ^^ ^o fooUsh an enterprise as that pro- 
opposes the posed by Columbus. Besides, Columbus asked 
^*^ for too great a share of the profits of the 

voyage — if indeed there were to be any. Columbus, 
disappointed again, sadly departed from the court. 

Taking his little son he set out on foot, determined to 
leave Spain* and seek his fortune elsewhere. As he 



ISABELLA AGREES TO HELP COLUMBUS 6 

journeyed he came to a monastery, where he asked the 
monks for bread and water for his boy. Columbus 
told one of the monks who he was, and discussed with 




The Queen had been much interested 

him his great plans for sailing around the world. The 
monk believed it could be done, and called in several 
friends to listen to Columbus. 

Messengers were sent by the monk to the queen 
begging her not to let so great an opportunity pass. 
If Columbus should be right, Spain would ^^gg^^ ^^^ 
receive great honors from the venture, and sent to the 
the cost of the voyage would be amply repaid. 
Isabella agreed to another interview and sent Columbus 



6 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

money to purchase clothes with which to appear at 
court. 

When Columbus came again before the king and 
queen, they asked him what he demanded. He told 
them he wished to be made admiral of the ocean and 
viceroy of the lands he might discover, and receive a 
large share of the profits to be made by trade and con- 
quest. ''You ask too much/' said the king. ''I will 
take no less/' replied Columbus, and again left the 
court and mounting his mule rode out of the city. 

The queen, however, had been much interested. 
After Columbus had left the court and was preparing 
isabeua to go to Fraucc, shc decided there was some 
consents reasou in his plans, and great glory for Spain 
if he succeeded. She said to Ferdinand : ''I will under- 
take this thing, and will pledge my jewels, if necessary, 
to raise the money." A courier was sent in haste to 
Columbus. He was overtaken about six miles from 
the city. He quickly returned and made an agreement 
with the sovereigns. 

Columbus was now fifty- six years of age. He was 
tall, of fair complexion and fine figure. His eyes were 
blue and his hair as white as snow. When it was 
known that the good queen had agreed to help him, 
everybody stopped making sport of him and began to 
talk of the strange voyage he was about to make. 



THE FIRST VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 7 

QUESTIONS 

To whom did Columbus at last apply? What did they do? 
What did Columbus ask for? What did Ferdinand think? 
Why? What did Columbus do? To what did he come in his 
journey? Why did he stop? What did he tell the monk? 
What did the monk do? What did the messenger beg of the 
queen? What did Isabella agree to? What did Columbus de- 
mand? What reply did he get? What did he then do? What 
did Isabella say of the proposed voyage? Describe Columbus 
at this time. 



LESSON 3 
THE FIRST VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 

It was hard to get seamen for the voyage. They 
were afraid of the unknown seas. The government 




The Ships of Columbus 



8 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

forced sailors to embark, and even released some crimi- 
nals from prison and made them enlist for the voyage. 
Early one morning in midsummer three vessels with 
ninety persons on board sailed out of the harbor of Palos 
(Pah-los), Spain. The vessels were the Santa 

Columbus V / 7 jr 

sails, August Mana (Ma- re- a), the Pinta (Peen-ta), and the 
Nina (Nen-ya). Columbus was on the Santa 
Maria, the largest of the three. As they set sail the 
people on the docks wept and wailed, thinking they 
should never see their friends and relatives again. The 
Uttle fleet was supposed to be starting on its way to 
reach the rich cities of India and China by sailing west- 
ward across the Atlantic Ocean. 

At the end of the first week the vessels came to the 
Canary Islands. After a short delay here Columbus 
continued his voyage. The weather was beautiful. 
No storms arose to distress or separate the little fleet. 
Day after day they sailed westward, around them the 
boundless water, overhead the blue sky, and nowhere 
any sign of the dreadful monsters they had feared so 
much. 

As they sailed onward the men grew more and more 
afraid. They did not know what was ahead of them. 
„, ., They recalled the stories of ships swallowed 

The sailors ^ i !• 

become up in the sca, of dreadful storms, and oi great 

sea serpents. The wind blew steadily from 

behind, and they had fears of never getting back home. 



THE FIRST VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 



9 



The needle of the compass no longer pointed exactly 
to the North Star, but a little to the northwest. Their 
fears increased daily, and they were loud in their de- 
mands to turn back. 

Columbus, however, held on his course. At length 
signs of land appeared. Birds flew over the ship and 
seaweed floated by; a branch with berries on it was 



COLUMBUS 

FIRST VOYAGE, 
1403-3 




"'^*'"' •"^7'^°""°"' ^ r HAN T z c 

o c n A y 



«. <,S!;;35.-n PORTO RICO 
JASIAICA*** HAm ■'•. 



;FA CIF 
(OCEAN 




The First Voyage of Columbus 

seen in the water, and a carved stick was picked up. 
Everybody was on the lookout. A reward had been 
offered to the first one seeing land. One night Colum- 
bus saw a light in the distance as if carried in a boat 
or by some one on shore. A little after midnight a 
shout was heard from the Pinta of ''Land! land!" A 
gun was fired. When day dawned, land, green and 
beautiful, was before the eyes of the weary sailors. 
Columbus received the reward, as he was the first w^ho 
saw the light on the shore. 



10 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




A little after daybreak, 
Columbus, dressed in a rich 
scarlet cloak and bearing 
the royal banner of Spain, 
went in a small boat . ^ ,. 

Land discov- 
tO the shore. He ©red October 
u J J ^12, 1492 

bowed down and 

kissed the ground and 
wept tears of joy. He 
drew his sword, un- 
furled the flag, and 
took possession of 
the land in the 
name of his sov- 
ereigns. His timid 
sailors crowded around 
him, kissed his hands, and 
begged forgiveness for their 
lack of confidence in their leader. 



The Discovery of Land 



THE RETURN TO SPAIN 11 

Columbus had landed on a small island in the group 
of the Bahamas. He named it San Salvador. 

QUESTIONS 
How did Columbus get sailors for his voyage? How many 
persons were on the ships that sailed? What were the names of 
the ships? On which one was Columbus? How did the people 
on the docks act? Where was the fleet supposed to be sailing? 
What can you say of the weather on the voyage? Of what did 
the sailors grow afraid? How did the wind blow? How did 
the needle of the compass point? What did the sailors wish to 
do? What signs of land appeared? What reward had been 
offered? Describe the seeing of a Hght on shore. What shout 
was heard and where? Who received the reward? Describe 
the landing of Columbus. How did the sailors act? What land 
had he reached? What name did he give the island? 



LESSON 4 
THE RETURN TO SPAIN 

When Columbus landed he saw a number of strange, 
half- naked, red- skinned people coming down to the 
shore. They stared in wonder at him and „, , ,. 

1 nil ^^® Indians 

his men, and then in terror fled to the woods. 
They had never seen sailing vessels or white men before. 
They thought that the ships were great white birds, 
and that the strange men had come from the skies. 
Columbus, supposing that he had reached some part of 
India, named the natives Indians, and they are so called 
to the present day 



12 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Columbus remained on the island a few days, and 
then sailed away, still seeking the great cities of India 
and China. He visited the islands of Cuba and Hayti 
(Ha'te), but nowhere found any sign of the treasure 
cities. 

After nearly three months Columbus sailed back to 
Spain. He took ten Indians with him, as well as many 
Keturnto curious thiugs he had found on his voyage. 
Spain Great was the rejoicing of the people when it 

was known that Columbus had returned. The stores 
were closed, the bells were rung in the churches, and the 
people who before had wept for fear now cried for joy. 

The king and queen sent for him to give them an 
account of his adventures. He was no longer the mad- 
man, but was now a hero. A great procession was 
formed. In front were the Indians; then came persons 
bearing the parrots, plants, and curiosities Columbus 
had brought home with him. Columbus himself rode 
a fine horse and was surrounded by the nobles of Spain. 

The king and queen sat under a great canopy. When 
Columbus approached, they rose and greeted him with 
Keception evcry mark of regard and admiration. He 
at court ^^Yd them the long story of his discoveries, 
after which the royal pair fell on their knees and 
thanked God for the safe return of the great voyager, 
and for the new lands which he had discovered. 

There was no trouble in getting sailors and adven- 



THE RETURN TO SPAIN 



13 



turers for a second voyage. In a few months seventeen 
vessels had been made ready. Horses, seed, farm tools, 
and other necessities for a colony were col- other voyagei 
lected. About fifteen hundred persons went °^ ^^^"^^"^^ 
on this voyage. Some of them hoped to find gold and 
pearls in the new land ; others were bent on adventure ; 
only a few were expecting hardship and work. On this 
second voyage Columbus founded a colony on the island 
of Hayti. He spent three years wandering about the 
islands of the West Indies. He then returned to Spain. 
Two years passed by, and he made a third voyage, 
going as far south as the island of Trinidad and the 
mainland of South America. 

QUESTIONS 
What kind of people did Columbus find? What did they 
think of the ships and of the white men? What other islands 
did Columbus visit? What did he do after three months? 
What did he take with him? Describe his reception by the 
people. Describe his reception by the king and queen. What 
preparations were made for a second voyage? What colony was 
founded? What land was reached on the third voyage? 




The Terror of the Sea 



14 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

LESSON 5 
LAST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS 

• The fortunes of Columbus now began to change. 
The colonists on the island of Hayti fell ill with malaria; 
they could find no gold and food was scarce. They 
complained bitterly of their condition, and began to 
accuse Columbus as the cause of all their misfortunes. 
As a fact, they had only themselves to blame. In- 
stead of working as they should, they spent their time 
in hunting for treasure and abusing the Indians. The 
simple-minded savages often begged the Spaniards to 
return to heaven on their great white birds. 

The king and queen of Spain sent an officer to inquire 
into the way Columbus had treated the colonists. This 
Columbus officer unjustly put Columbus in chains and 
in chains ^^^^ ]^-j^ back to Spain. Columbus was in 
the greatest distress at this treatment. He said: ^'I 
shall wear these chains until the king and queen order 
them to be taken off, and I will keep them as relics and 
memorials of my service.'^ Afterwards he said to his 
son: ^^Let the chains be buried with me.'' When he 
arrived in Spain the people were indignant at the way 
in which he had been treated. The queen sent for him, 
ordered his chains removed, and wept when he told 
her the story of his misfortunes. 

After a year or more had passed Columbus made 



LAST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS 15 

a fourth voyage to the new world. When his vessels 
reached Hayti a terrific storm arose that came near 
destroying his little fleet. He did not land, but Fourth and 
sailed westward, reaching the coast of Central ^*** ^^^^^^ 
America somewhere on the Isthmus of Panama. The 
rain and the heat made his sufferings very great. The 
food became so bad that the men ate their bread in the 
dark so that they could not see its condition. 

After a year of wandering and disappointment, 
Columbus decided to go back to Spain. He still be- 
lieved that he had reached the coast of India, and 
could not understand why he did not find the rich 
cities of which the merchants had told him. 

When he reached Spain, Queen Isabella was on her 
deathbed. When she died Columbus lost his best 
friend. Old, sick, and poor, he had to live on charity. 
Often he was without money to buy bread or pay for 
a place to sleep. At last, when about seventy years 
of age he died, and was buried in the town of Valladolid, 
Spain. He never knew that he had discovered a new 
world. 

QUESTIONS 

What befell the colonists at Hayti? Of what did they com- 
plain, and whom did they accuse? What was the real cause of 
their misfortunes? What did the Indians beg the Spaniards to 
do? What did the king and queen of Spain do? What did the 
officer do? What did Columbus say of his chains? How was 
he treated when he reached Spain? What events happened on 



16 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

the fourth voyage of Columbus? What land did he reach, and 
what did he still believe? How did Columbus live in his old 
age? How old was he when he died? Where did he die? 
What did he never know? 



LESSON 6 
JOHN CABOT — AMERICUS VESPUCCIUS 

There was great excitement in Europe over the 
voyages of Columbus, and the short way he was sup- 
posed to have found to China and Japan. The king 
of England gave permission to John Cabot (Cab'ot) , an 
Italian sailor, who with his three sons was living in 
England at that time, to sail westward and discover 
whatever he could. This was before Columbus had 
made his fourth voyage. 

Cabot sailed across the ocean and landed on the 
coast of North America, somewhere near Newfound- 
john Cabot, land or Labrador. When he went back to 
1497-1498 England and told that he had found land to 
the west, everybody paid him and his sons great honor. 
They were dressed in silks, and the people ran after 
them whenever they appeared on the streets. 

The next year John Cabot, probably accompanied 
by his son Sebastian, made another voyage to the 
coast of North America and wandered as far south as 
Cape Hatter as, and probably farther. These voyages 
gave John Cabot the right to be called the discoverer 



JOHN CABOT — AMERICUS VESPUCCIUS 17 

of the mainland of North America, and gave England 
the right to claim the new world as one of her possessions. 
Among those who made voyages to the new world was 
Americas Vespuccius (Ves-pu'-shus), an Italian by birth, 
but living; in Spain at the time. On one of . 

^ ^ Amencus 

his voyages he explored the coast of Brazil, vespuccius, 
When he returned to Europe he wrote an 
account of the ^^New World, ^^ as he called it. His 
account created a great sensation. It was translated 
into several languages, and Americus was as much 
talked about as ever Columbus had been. The belief 
now gained ground that the newly discovered shores 
were not those of Asia at all, but in fact belonged to a 
new continent which, up to this time, had been unknown 
to the people of the world. 

A German professor soon after published a book on 
geography. He divided the world into four parts, 
Europe, Asia, Africa, and the part that Americus had 
written about. He said: ^^I see no reason why this 
fourth part should not take its name from its discoverer 
and be called America.^' From this suggestion all the 
new world came to be called America. 

QUESTIONS 

What happened in Europe? What can you say of John 
Cabot and his three sons? What land did Cabot reach on his 
first voyage? What honors were paid him? What land did 
he reach on his second voyage? What right did John Cabot 



18 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

acquire? What claim did England make? What can you say 
of Americus Vespuccius? What coast did he explore? What 
account did he write? What belief now gained ground? What 
did a German professor say in his book on geography? For 
whom is America named? 



LESSON 7 
BALBOA — MAGELLAN 

Fifteen or twenty years had passed since Columbus 
had discovered America. Vessels were constantly 
plying across the ocean, bringing settlers and adven- 
turers to the islands of the West Indies. Settlements 
were made on the Isthmus of Darien, but the great 
heart of the continent was unknown and untouched. 

The Spanish were especially eager for the treasures 
which the new world was supposed to contain. Every 
ship brought adventurers who hoped to better their for- 
tunes by finding gold and silver in the mountains and 
streams, or else to find diversion in fighting the savages. 

Among these adventurers was Balboa. He was at 
one time a wealthy landowner in Hayti. Becoming 
bankrupt, he tried to escape his creditors by 
concealing himself in a cask in the hold of an 
outgoing vessel. When discovered, the captain threat- 
ened to land him on a desert island, but Balboa begged 
to be allowed to remain on board. The vessel was 
wrecked on the coast of the Isthmus of Darien. After 




Balboa takes Possession of the South Sea in the 
Name of the King of Spain 



19 



20 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

a few years Balboa had become the leader of the colony 
on the isthmus. 

Hearing from the Indians that gold could be found 
beyond the mountains, he led a party of men across the 

Discovers the ^^^^^^^* "^^ ^^^ surprise and delight there 
Pacific Ocean appeared the waters of a great sea. Balboa 
waded out through the surf as far as he could, 
displayed his flag, and took possession of the water, 
and all lands it touched, in the name of the king of 
Spain. In this way did Balboa discover the waters of 
the Pacific Ocean. He did not know it was an ocean, 
but thought it was a great sea, and so he called it ^^The 
South Sea.'' 

Another bold navigator named Magellan (Ma- jePlan) 
proposed to sail around South America and around 
Magellan, the world. He passed through the straits 
1519-1522 bearing his name, and went as far as the 
Philippine Islands. He named the ocean on which he 
sailed the Pacific, which means ^^ peaceful.'' At the 
Philippine Islands Magellan was killed in a fight with 
the Indians. Only one of his vessels and eighteen of 
his crew succeeded in completing the first voyage around 
the world. 

QUESTIONS 

How many years had passed? What did vessels bring to 
the West Indies? Where were settlements made? For what 
were the Spaniards especially eager? What did these adven- 
turers hope to find? Who was Balboa? How did he get to the 



PONCE DE LEON EXPLORES FLORIDA 21 

Isthmus of Darien? What did he become after a few years? 
What did he start out to find beyond the mountains? What 
did he discover? Describe the way in which Balboa took pos- 
session of the sea. What water did he think it was? Wlio 
proposed to sail around the world? W^hat name did he give the 
ocean and why? What was the fate of Magellan? What was 
the success of the expedition? 



LESSON 8 
PONCE DE LEON EXPLORES FLORIDA 

Among those who went with Columbus on his second 
voyage was Ponce de Leon (Pontha da Laon) . He was 
thirty- two years old at that time. Afterwards he had 
lived for twenty years in the West Indies, and had 
become governor of Porto Rico. He was now growing 
old and he dreaded age and white hairs. 

Ponce de Leon had heard that on an island near by 
there was a fountain in which if one should bathe he 
would never grow old. It was a fountain ^, ., 

1 1 XT 1 • 1 • • Florida seen 

of perpetual youth. He obtamed permission and named, 
from the king of Spain to explore and settle 
this island. He sailed with three vessels and came to 
a beautiful verdant coast. It was Easter Sunday, or 
Pascua Florida, when land was first seen, and in honor 
of the day De Leon named the country Florida. 

De Leon sailed along the coast and landed at several 
places looking for the fountain of youth. He and his 
followers drank at every spring and bathed in every 



22 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Ponce de Leon Searches for the Fountain of Youth 



stream. Around them were the deep forests and the 
beautiful flowers, but nowhere could they find waters 
to restore their lost youth. 

After sailing around the southern coast, of Florida, 
De Leon turned his ships homeward. He went to Spain 
and reported to the king the wonders of this new land, 
which he called the land of Florida. The king granted 
him permission to found a colony in this new country. 

Eight years passed by and Ponce de Leon again set 
out for Florida, this time to found a colony. He had 



THE ADVENTURES OF NARVAEZ 23 

given up the search for the fountain of youth and was 
resolved on estabhshing a powerful government of which 
he should be the head. He took with him all the ma- 
terials for building a town and founding a colony. 

The Indians, however, remembered certain cruelties 
of other Spaniards who had visited their shores, and it 
was not long before they attacked De Leon Death of 
and his men. A poisoned arrow wounded ^«^®°" 
the vahant old soldier, and he was placed on ship- 
board and carried to Cuba, where he died. He had not 
found the fountain of youth, but he had found fame as 
the explorer of the beautiful land which to this day is 
called Florida. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was Ponce de Leon? Where had he lived and what 
had he become? What did he dread? Of what had he heard? 
What permission did he obtain? What land did he discover, 
and what name did he give to it and why? For what did he 
seek? What permission was granted him by the king of Spain? 
What was Ponce de Leon's purpose? What did the Indians 
remember? What did they do? What was the fate of De Leon? 



LESSON 9 

THE ADVENTURES OF NARVAEZ 

About the time that De Leon was trying to found 

a colony in Florida and Magellan was on his voyage 

around the world, a brave Spanish soldier named 

Cortez had marched with an army through Mexico 




The Rich Cities of Mexico excite the 
Spanish Adventurers 



and had captured the city of Mexico. 
Cortez had found a beautiful country 
where the people built fine ^ ^ . 

^ ^ Cortez m 

roads, lived in good homes, Mexico, 
worshiped in beautiful tem- 
ples, and had treasure-houses full of 
gold. 

When all this became known great 
excitement arose for further adven- 
ture. The Spaniards thought there 
must be other countries as beautiful 
and other cities as rich as those that, 
Cortez had conquered. Narvaez (Nar- 
va-eth) was among those who deter- 
mined to try their fortunes in search 
of gold and in conquest. 

The king of Spain gave him permis- 
sion to explore and colonize a large 

24 



THE ADVENTURES OF NARVAEZ 25 

territory. With six hundred men and a large supply 
of provisions he set sail from Spain. The ^^ 

^ ^ Narvaez 

party came to the coast of Florida and began explores 
their march inland. They wandered on and 
on, seeking for gold and the rich cities. They found 
only the miserable huts of Indians. 

Food became scarce and starvation stared them in 
the face. A messenger was sent to the coast to find 
their ships, but he came back to report that the ships 
were nowhere to be seen. The party turned south and 
at last came back to the coast of Florida. Here they 
slew their horses and devoured them. Boats they 
must have, and so they cut down trees from the forest 
and made ship timbers fashioned with tools made from 
the iron of their stirrups, swords, and guns. They 
turned their muskets into nails. They used the manes 
and tails of the dead horses to make ropes and cordage. 
They used their own clothes for sails. 

At last they embarked in their weak and leaky boats, 
and for a month were beaten about in the Gulf of 
Mexico. They drifted past the mouth of the „ _ . 

Ti/r- • • . -1 11 Sufferings 

Mississippi, were carried out to sea, and the 

boat in which Narvaez was, filled with water and went 

to the bottom with more than fifty men. 

The other boats drifted until some of them reached 
the coast of Texas. Here the half- starved Spaniards 
were set upon by the Indians and the greater number 



26 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

were killed. A few escaped and later were made slaves 
by other tribes of Indians. For a number of years 
they remained with their Indian masters, all dying, 
however, except three Spaniards and one negro. 

At length these four made their escape and found 
their way to a small Spanish village in Mexico. The 
cabeza de inhabitants were astonished to see their gaunt 
^*®* faces and strangely clad forms. One of the four 

was named Cabeza de Vaca (Ka-ba'tha da va'ka) . He 
had been the treasurer of the expedition. He told the 
Spaniards of the strange adventures which had befallen 
him and his companions in their long wanderings through 
the forests of the new world. 

QUESTIONS 

What country had Cortez conquered? What kind of civili- 
zation did Cortez find? What excitement arose? What per- 
mission did the king of Spain give Narvaez? With what did he 
set sail? What territory did he explore? What sufferings did 
the party endure? How did they escape from the land? On 
what gulf were they beaten about? What became of Narvaez? 
What became of the other boats? What happened to the 
Spaniards? Relate the story of Cabeza de Vaca. 



LESSON 10 

DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 

Hernando de Soto, a rich and influential Spanish 

soldier, prepared to march into the heart of the new 

world. A fleet was prepared at great expense, which 




De Soto at War with the Indians 



27 



28 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



landed the Spaniards on the west coast of Florida. 
De Soto lands ^^-^ hundred men formed the party. They 
in Florida, had over two hundred horses and a herd of 

1539 

three hundred swine. They took blood- 
hounds with which to capture the savages, and shackles 
to bind them. 

De Soto soon came in conflict with the Indians. He 
expected to find them hostile, and was not disap- 
pointed. During one of the fights he was astonished 

to find a white man 
among the savages who 
called out to him in the 
Spanish language. After 
the battle the man told 
him he was one of the 
followers of Narvaez, and 
that he had been captured 
by the Indians and con- 
demned to be burned 
alive. Just before the torch was applied the daughter 
of the chief begged that he be spared and given to 
her for a white slave. De Soto rescued him from 
the Indians, and on his march used him as inter- 
preter. 

The party moved northward through the swamps 
and forests of Florida and Georgia. As was to be ex- 
pected, their food gave out. The men complained 




The March of De Soto 



DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 29 

and wanted to turn back, and the Indians were always 
unfriendly. They lured the Spaniards onward, how- 
ever, telling them of rich cities and treasures to be 
found further on. 

At last De Soto reached the Savannah River. There 
he found an Indian village and a beautiful princess 
who approached the Spaniards and threw Desoto ^^^ 
around the shoulders of De Soto a necklace of the Indian 
pearls which she took from her own throat. ^""*'®^^ 
De Soto and his men rested for a while to accept the 
hospitality of the Indians. When he left he com- 
pelled the princess to accompany him. For weary 
weeks they plodded along, the princess following on 
foot or being carried on her own litter followed by her 
maids. One day the maiden suddenly sprang from her 
couch and with the swiftness of a deer ran through the 
forest and disappeared. The Spaniards never heard of 
her again. 

De Soto and his men crossed the present states of 
Alabama and Mississippi. They fought many battles 
with the savages, killing thousands of them, 
but losing many of their own men and horses Welches the 
and much of their baggage. Slowly and J'^^j""ppi' 
painfully they toiled on until they came to 
the Mississippi River. They first saw the great river 
about where the city of Memphis now is. Crossing 
the stream the adventurers wandered for a year or 



30 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

more in the tangled forests of the present states of 
Arkansas and Missouri. 

Returning to the Mississippi, De Soto, discouraged 
and broken-hearted, was taken ill with fever. When 
he died his followers dropped his body, weighted with 
stones, into the current of the great river he had dis- 
covered. The remainder of his followers finally made 
their way to a Spanish colony in Mexico, and told the 
story of their adventures and of the sad fate of De Soto. 

QUESTIONS 

What did De Soto prepare to do? How large was the party? 
What did they take with them? Relate the story of the Span- 
ish captive. What was the direction of the first march of the 
party? How did they suffer? What did the Indians tell them? 
How was De Soto treated by the Indian princess? How did he 
treat her in return? How did she escape? Through what 
territory did De Soto march? What became of De Soto? How 
and where was he buried? What became of his men? 



LESSON 11 
CORONADO SEARCHES FOR THE SEVEN CITIES 

The Spanish were firmly established in Mexico. 
They still believed that somewhere in the heart of the 
continent there were great quantities of gold and 
silver. An Indian slave had told wonderful stories of 
seven cities of Cibola, lying somewhere to the north, 



CORONADO SEARCHES FOR THE SEVEN CITIES 31 

where there was plenty of gold. But the slave had 
died, and there was no one to lead the way to those 
cities. 

About the time that De Soto was making his explo- 
rations, an army of three hundred Spaniards and 
over twice as many Indian followers began a 
march from Mexico in search of the treasure marches 
cities. The leader of the explorers was Fran- J^;^^ Mexico, 
Cisco Coronado. The party crossed the des- 
erts of Arizona, and after many days' wandering they 
came to the first Indian city. Instead of beautiful 
palaces lined with gold, they found rude huts filled 
with dirt. Instead of a rich and prosperous people, they 
found a few lazy warriors easy to conquer, and a 
crowd of half-dressed women and children lying around 
the hot, sun-baked houses. 

Coronado marched on, lured by stories of richer 
places elsewhere. He marched through New Mexico, 
and as far as the great plains of Kansas. All Explores 
the villages he found were small, poor, and *^® ^®^* 
utterly destitute of gold and silver. There were no 
rich cities to be found. The stories were all myths. 
In all the region passed through by Coronado there 
were only scattered villages composed of mud houses, 
and wild Indians whose chief occupation was hunting 
buffaloes. 

In their wanderings the Spanish came to a prairie 



32 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

covered with little mounds out of which prairie dogs 
peered at them. Then they came to pools of salt 
water, bitter to the taste. Later on they encountered 
great herds of buffalo. The Indians they met used 
corn for food, had implements made of copper, and 
were dressed in buffalo robes. 

After two years of marching and searching, Coronado 
and his men returned to Mexico. They had found no 
treasure, but they had explored the great western 
plains of our country, and gained some idea of the 
extent of the new world and of the kind of people 
that inhabited it. 

Nearly all the Spaniards who had explored America 
had come searching for wealth. Some had come for 
Purposes of advcuture and some for conquest. In most 
the Spanish (>^ggg ^j^gy treated the Indians with great 
cruelty, and were in turn attacked and many were 
killed by the savages. Theirs is a sad story of a fruit- 
less search for riches, of long marches amid great 
suffering, of disappointment and failure among the 
unbroken depths of the new world that they were the 
first to discover and explore. 

QUESTIONS 

Where were the Spanish established? What did they still 
believe? What had an Indian slave told them? What expe- 
dition did Coronado lead? About what time was this? What 



CORONADO SEARCHES FOR THE SEVEN CITIES 33 

deserts did they cross? What did they find? How far did 
Coronado march? What did he continue to find? To what 
did they come in their wanderings? How long did their march 
continue? What had nearly all the Spaniards come to America 
to find? How had they treated the Indians? How were they 
in turn treated? What can you say of their story? 




THE ENGLISH COLONIES 



LESSON 12 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND THE LOST COLONY 

There was a brave knight in England named Sir 
Walter Raleigh. Upon one occasion, when he was a 
Raleigh and joung man, he was in a crowd watching 
Elizabeth Elizabeth, the queen, and her courtiers pass 
by. The queen came to a muddy place in the path 
and hesitated. Raleigh quickly stepped forward and 

spread his cloak over the 
mud so that the queen 
might pass without soiling 
her shoes. This greatly 
pleased Elizabeth, who 
sent for Raleigh, attached 
him to her court, and 
made him a knight. 

Raleigh gained the ap- 
proval of the queen for a 
plan to found a colony 
in America. The territory granted him for a colony 
was named Virginia in honor of Elizabeth, who was 

34 




Raleigh's Colony 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND THE LOST COLONY 35 

a virgin, or unmarried, queen. The colonists landed 
on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North 
Carolina. 

The colonists had many misfortunes and came near 
starving to death. In great distress they were taken 
back to England. They carried with them ^^^ ^^ ^^ 
some things they had learned from the first colony, 
Indians. One was the use of the potato. 
Raleigh had some of the potatoes planted on his farm 
in Ireland. They grew so abundantly and were such 
good food that they have since become famous as the 
Irish potato. 

One other thing the colonists carried back was 
tobacco, which had been unknown in England up to 
that time. Raleigh learned to smoke, and the story is 
told that one day as he was smoking in his room his 
servant came in with a pot of ale. Thinking his 
master on fire, the servant promptly threw the ale over 
him. 

Raleigh tried again to found a colony in America. 
The colonists landed on Roanoke Island as before. 
Among them was Mrs. Dare, the daughter Virginia 
of John White, the governor. Soon after ^^''®' ^^^^ 
landing a little girl was born, and was named Virginia 
Dare. She was the first white child born in America 
of English parents. 

This colony fared badly also. John White, the 



36 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

governor, returned to England to get supplies and was 
gone three years. When he came back to Roanoke 
not a sign of the colonists could be found. Every 
man, woman, and child had disappeared. The aban- 
Fateofthe ^^^^^ cabius and the fields overgrown with 
second col- weeds Were all that could be seen. On a 
tree was carved the word Croatan, the name 
of a tribe of Indians living on an island near by. 

It had been agreed that if the colonists, for any 
reason, had to abandon the settlement they would 
leave some directions behind them. Governor White 
tried to reach the village of the Indians, but the ship 
was driven off by a storm, and the captain insisted 
upon returning to England. No trace of the colonists 
has ever been found, and to this day no one knows 
what became of the lost colony of Roanoke. 

QUESTIONS 

Describe the way in which Raleigh won the favor of Elizabeth. 
What plan did the queen approve? What name was given the 
territory and why? Where did the colonists land? What be- 
came of them? What can you say of the potato? What can 
you say of Raleigh and the use of tobacco? What other colony 
was attempted? What can you say of Virginia Dare? What 
was the fate of the second colony? 



THE SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN 37 

LESSON 13 
THE SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN 

One spring day three ships sailed up a broad and 
beautiful river in Virginia. On board were one 
hundred and five persons looking for a place to found 
a colony in America. They had sailed from Eng- 
land and had been on the ocean nearly all winter. 
They were very glad to see the green shores, to hear the 
birds sing, and to smell the flowers. After sail- jamestown, 
ing up the river thirty or forty miles they ^*^ ^^' ^^^"^ 
selected a place for their colony and named it James- 
town. The river and the town both were named for 
James, the king of England It was the first English 
settlement in America that became a permanent colony. 

The colonists were not well suited for life in the 
wilderness. There were a few carpenters, a black- 
smith, a mason, a barber, a tailor, twelve 
laborers, and about fifty gentlemen who did 
not know how to work and who came only for adven- 
ture. A few tents were erected, cabins were started 
and a church was made by nailing some boards be- 
tween two trees and stretching a canvas over it. 
Some of the colonists contented themselves by making 
caves in the hillsides to live in. Before long most of 
the food gave out, many of the colonists were ill with 
fever and began to quarrel among themselves and 



38 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



complain of their leaders. By the end of the summer 
half of them died. 

It was a discouraging start for the colony. Every- 
body might have perished had it not been for Captain 
John Smith. He was a young man who had had many 
strange adventures. Upon one occasion he had gone 
to sea, had been thrown overboard in the Mediter- 
ranean, had swum to the shore of a desert island, and 
Captain John later had been picked up and carried to 
Smith Egypt. Among other adventures he had 
been captured by the Turks and sold into slavery. 
He escaped and fled into Europe, wandering across the 




John Smith is captured by the Turks. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF JAMESTOWN 89 

country until he reached England. There he joined 
the colonists on their way to Virginia. 

Smith took charge of the colony. He set every 
man to work, saying that those who would not work 
should not eat. They needed food, but the Indians 
would not give or sell them any corn. Smith took a 
body of soldiers and went to the Indians. ^^Sell me 
corn/' said he, ^^or I shall have to take it by force.'' 
The Indians laughed at him and said: ^^We will give 
you a handful of corn for all the guns and swords of 
your men." This made Smith so angry that he at- 
tacked the Indians, drove them out of their village, 
and captured their hideous idol. When the savages 
saw their idol in the hands of the white men, they 
offered a boat load of corn as a ransom for it. Smith 
was glad to make the exchange. 

By treating the Indians honestly when he could, 
fighting them when he w^as compelled to do so, and 
forcing the colonists to strict economy and hard work, 
Captain Smith saved the colony from destruction. 

QUESTIONS 

Describe the landing at Jamestown. How many colonists 
landed at Jamestown? What can you say of Jamestown? 
What can you say of the colonists? What sufferings did they 
endure? What can you say of the early life of Captain John 
Smith? What adventures had he had? What did he do with 
every man? How did he secure corn from the Indians? How 
did he save the colony of Jamestown? 



40 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



LESSON 14 
POCAHONTAS, THE INDIAN PRINCESS. 

Not far from 
Jamestown lived 
King Powhatan, 
a great Indian chief. He had 
a young daughter named Poca- 
hontas. He was very proud 
of her, loved her devotedly, 
and gave her everything she 
asked for. 

One day some warriors came 
into the village bringing Cap- 
tain John Smith a 
prisoner. 





Captain 

They had smith a 
captured him while 



Pocahontas 



on an expedition up the 
Chickahominy River. They had 
started to kill the brave young 
captain at once, but he had held 
his Indian guide in front of him 
like a shield until the Indians 
caught him. Then he took out his 
pocket compass and showed the In- 
dians the needle trembling under the 
glass. This astonished them so much 



POCAHONTAS, THE INDIAN PRINCESS 41 

that they decided to take him to the village and present 
him to the chief. 

Smith was kept prisoner for several days, while the 
Indians listened to his wonderful stories of what he 
could do. He told them about the sun and ^^.^^ 
the moon, about the great ships that brought ^^^^/^^ 
him to America, and the great cities across 
the ocean. He closely watched the Indians, and 
learned a great deal about the way they Uved. 
Among those who listened eagerly to the wonder- 
ful stories was Pocahontas. She was only twelve 
years old, but had already learned to admire the white 
man. 

At last the day came to settle the fate of Captain 
Smith. He was led into the tent of Powhatan. The 
chief clothed in raccoon skins sat on a bench. Around 
him stood the warriors, some of whom had clubs in 
their hands. His wives sat around him, and before 
them burned the wigwam fire. Two stones were 
brought in and Smith was compelled to lie down with 
his head on them. 

The sign was given to dash out the brains of the 
prisoner. The warriors approached, clubs in hand, to 
obey the order. But Pocahontas rushed for- p^^^hontas 
ward, threw herself in front of the warriors, slaves Ms 
took Smith's head in her arms, and begged her 
father to spare his life. The old chief could deny his 



42 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



daughter nothing. Smith was released and was adopted 
by Powhatan as a son. 

After a while he was allowed to return to James- 
town. Pocahontas soon became the firm friend of the 
white men. She often came to Jamestown and 

brought corn and vege- 
tables to the colonists. 
She played about the 
village, and was great- 
ly beloved by every- 
body. When she was 
grown Pocahontas be- 
came a Christian, and 
was baptized with the 
name of Rebecca. She 
was called Lady Re- 
becca, since she was a 
true princess, being the 
daughter of a king. 

A young Englishman 
of Jamestown, named 
John Rolfe, fell in love 

withPocahon- Marriage of 

tas and asked ^°^^^<>^t»« 
Powhatan^s consent to 
their marriage. The 
old chief agreed, and 




Settlements in Virginia 



PROGRESS OF JAMESTOWN 43 

there was a wedding which both Indians and white 
men attended. Rolfe and his Indian princess went 
to England and were received at court with great 
distinction. As they were about to return to their 
home in Virginia Pocahontas was taken ill. In a few 
days she died, leaving a little son. This son after- 
wards grew to be a man and came to Virginia. From 
him have descended some of the best families in that 
State. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was Pocahontas? How had Captain John Smith been 
captured? How had he saved his hfe? How did he entertain 
the Indians? What interest did Pocahontas show in him? How 
did Pocahontas save the hfe of Captain John Smith? What 
did Pocahontas soon become? How did she help the colonists? 
What did she become when she was grown? What name was 
given her? W^hom did she marry? Describe the marriage. 
What became of Pocahontas? . 



LESSON 15 
PROGRESS OF JAMESTOWN 

Captain Smith left Jamestown and went back to 
England. Then came a sad time, when the people had 
nothing to eat. It was called ''The Starving ^j^^ ^^^^^.^^ 
Time.^^ The hungry people ate rats, dogs, time, 1609- 
lizards, and whatever else they could find. 
The colony was reduced from five hundred to sixty, and 



44 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

had it not been for the timely arrival of a ship with 
supplies, the whole colony would have perished. 

After a while the colony began again to prosper. 

The people found that there was a great demand in 

England for tobacco. The colonists now 

Tobacco 11. • . , . . . 

turned their attention to its cultivation m 
quantities. Such was the demand that even the streets 
of Jamestown were planted with it. It became the 
money of the colonists. The salaries of the ministers 
and of the public officers, as well as the taxes, were 
paid in tobacco. 

Twelve years after the settlement of the colony a 
Dutch ship appeared one day in the harbor of James- 
r ^ ^ ^- town. On board were twenty negroes that 

Introduction . 

of slavery, were sold to the colonists for slaves. This 
was the beginning of negro slavery in America. 
The negroes were good field hands, being able to stand 
the summer heat better than the white man. They 
were easy to control, and not expensive to support. 
At that time the slave trade was not considered wrong. 
Even kings and queens gave it their sanction and en- 
couraged ships to go to the coast of Africa to buy the 
unhappy negroes and sell them in any part of the world 
in which they could find a market. No one foresaw the 
consequences that would follow the purchasing of a 
few slaves by the colonists at Jamestown. None knew 
that it was the beginning of a system of slavery that was 



PROGRESS OF JAMESTOWN 

to have a tremendous influence upon the his- 
tory of our country. 

In the same year that the slaves were 
brought, another event of great impor- 
tance happened. Up to this time 

Wives for ^^ „ • j-l. 

the colonists, there were tew women m tne 
^^^^ colony, and the young men of 

Jamestown were anxious to establish 
homes. If they were to live perma- 
nently and happily in America they 
must have wives and children. Real- 
izing this, the Company in England in 
charge of the colony sent out a ship, with 
ninety young women of good character, 



The Wooing of the Maidens 



46 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

who were willing to come to America and marry the 
men of Jamestown. 

There was great excitement when the ship arrived. 
The men dressed in their best and welcomed the maidens 
with great heartiness. No maid was compelled to marry 
against her consent, and each one could choose the hus- 
band that suited her. It was not long before ninety 
weddings were celebrated in Jamestown and vicinity. 
Each man willingly paid the Company the one hundred 
and twenty pounds of tobacco required to cover the cost 
of the passage of his wife to America. Other ships came 
over bringing wives for the colonists. The settlers now 
had homes and were content to remain permanently 
in the new world. From this time all went well at 
Jamestown. 

QUESTIONS 

Where did Captain John Smith go? What happened to the 
colonists? Describe the Starving Time. How many colonists 
were left alive? For what was there a great demand? Who 
first planted tobacco for sale? How was tobacco used for 
money? When and how was slavery introduced into America? 
What can you say of the negroes? What was thought of the 
slave trade at that time? For what were the young men anx- 
ious? Who were sent over by the Company? What were the 
conditions of each marriage? 



NATHANIEL BACON AND HIS REBELLION 47 

LESSON 16 
NATHANIEL BACON AND HIS REBELLION 

As Virginia grew in population, and the settlements 
increased in size and number, various governors were 
sent over to take charge of affairs. Among wiiuam 
them was Sir WilHam Berkeley (Berk'-lr), ^''^'''^ 
who was governor for over thirty years. He was a 
rough, hot-tempered, narrow-minded man, whom the 
colonists cordially disliked. 

An extensive trade in furs had grown up between the 
settlers and the Indians. This Governor Berkeley 
found to be profitable, and so he refused to have the 
Indians punished for the massacre of men, women, 
and children in the outlying settlements. It was 
made unlawful for anyone to lead a body of soldiers 
against the Indians without a commission from the 
governor. 

One of the colonists at Jamestown was a rich and 
popular young lawyer, named Nathaniel Bacon. Upon 
one occasion, after the Indians had been giv- Bacon, the 
ing trouble, a crowd of citizens gathered and ^^^^^"^ 
waited for some one to lead them. Seeing Bacon 
approaching, they called out, ''Bacon! Bacon!'' He 
agreed to lead them against the Indians, as well as to 
join them in their protest against the conduct of the 
governor. 



48 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Without the consent of the governor Bacon and his 
followers marched against the Indians and punished 
them. When Berkeley heard of it he was angry and 
declared Bacon a rebel and a traitor. Bacon did not 
care, and neither did the people. They were thor- 
oughly aroused against the old try ant. They com- 
pelled him to order an election for a new assembly. 
Bacon was chosen a member. Many of the old op- 
pressive laws were repealed and wiser ones were enacted 
in their stead. Bacon was also promised a commission 
to fight the Indians. 

Fearing treachery on the part of the governor, Bacon 
assembled a party of five hundred men and paraded 
Bacon and before the State-house. Berkeley came out, 
Berkeley called Bacou a traitor and a rebel, and de- 
clared that he should not have his commission. To 
show that he was not afraid, Berkeley tore open his 
shirt front and baring his bosom dared the soldiers to 
shoot. 

Berkeley wanted to fight Bacon, and challenged him 
to a combat with swords. Bacon replied : ^M came not 
to hurt a hair of your head, and as for your sword, your 
Honor may please to put it up. I came for a commission 
to lead these men against the Indians.^ ^ At last Bacon 
was given his commission. 

Hardly had he left Jamestown to fight the savages, 
before Berkeley, in his rage, again declared him a 



THE SETTLEMENT OF PLYMOUTH 49 

traitor and a rebel; whereupon Bacon marched back. 
Berkeley fled and tried to raise troops of his own to 
attack Bacon and his followers. To prevent James- 
town from falling into the hands of the oppressor, it 
was agreed to set fire to it. Some of Bacon's jamestown 
men burned their own homes in their eager- ^''''''®^' ^^'^^ 
ness. But Bacon was seized with fever and died after 
a brief illness, Berkeley was soon after recalled to 
England by the king, and there was peace once more in 
Virginia. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of William Berkeley? How did he treat 
the people? Why did he refuse to have the Indians punished? 
Who was Nathaniel Bacon? How did he happen to become the 
leader? What did Bacon and his followers do? What did 
Berkeley do? What did the people compel Berkeley to do? 
What was Bacon promised? What did Bacon now do? How 
did Berkeley act? What did Bacon say to Berkeley? How 
did it happen that Jamestown was destroyed? 



LESSON 17 
THE SETTLEMENT OF PLYMOUTH 

Thirteen years after the settlement of Jamestown 
a body of English Puritans landed on the coast of 
New England and founded the colony of Plymouth. 
This portion of the coast of the new world had been 



50 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



explored several years before by Captain John Smith, 
and the region had been named by him New Eng- 
land. 

These Puritans at one time had lived in England. 
They had left that country because their consciences 
m. ^ . would not permit them to worship God 

The Puritans ^ ^ 

according to the methods of the English 
Church. They desired to purify the church of its evil 



r *' 




From Sargent's Painting 

Landing of the Pilgrims 



practices, and for that reason they were called Puritans. 
They were persecuted in England and their lives were 
so unhappy that they determined to leave their native 
land. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF PLYMOUTH 



51 




The Pilgrims 




Miles Standish 



Many of them moved 
to Holland to find a 
refuge from 
persecution 
From that country a 
body of about one 
hundred came in the 
Mayflowei' to find in 
America freedom to 
worship God. On ac- 
count of their wander- 
ings they received the 
name of ''Pilgrims." 
Before landing, the 
Pilgrims gathered in 
the cabin of the May- 
flower and signed an 
agreement by which 
they pledged them- 
selves to obey such 
laws as should be 
made for the govern- 
ment of the colony. 
The}' then chose one 
of their number, John 
Carver, to be governor 
for one year. 



52 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

It was a cold December day when they landed at 
Plymouth. Rude cabins were built and covered with 
thatch. The cracks were filled with mud to 
STe^pnlrims, keep out the biting wind. Oiled paper was used 
iQ2T^^^ ^^' ill ^^e windows in place of glass. The weather 
was so cold that the women and children, and 
many of the men, had to remain on board the May- 
flower until spring. During that first winter more than 
forty of them, including Governor Carver, died. The 
survivors were very brave, however, and in the spring, 
when the Mayflower set sail for England, not one of 
the Pilgrims returned with her. 

Among the leaders of the Plymouth colony was 
Captain Miles Standish. He was as brave as a lion in 
Miles Stan- his dealings with the Indians, but tender- 
^"^ hearted as a child. At one time there were 

only seven people in the whole settlement well enough 
to work. Miles Standish cooked the food, nursed the 
sick, and even washed the clothes for the colonists. 

QUESTIONS 

Who founded the colony of Plymouth? When? Who had 
explored and named this portion of the coast? Why had these 
Puritans left England? To what country had many of them 
gone? How many came to America in the Mayflower? For 
what purpose? What name did they receive? What agree- 
ment did they sign? Who was chosen governor? Describe the 
landing of the Pilgrims, and the cabins they built. Describe 
their sufferings. What can you say of Captain Miles Standish? 



MORE ABOUT PLYMOUTH 53 

LESSON 18 
MORE ABOUT PLYMOUTH 
The colonists of Plymouth were very happy when 
the spring came. They set about building more cabms 
planting gardens and fields, and making friends with 

the Indians. ,0, ^ /o-^'t: 

In the early spring an Indian named Samoset (Sam o- 
set) walked into Plymouth and called out 'Welcome, 
Englishmen ! " He had learned a little Engl^h samos.t and 
from the fishermen on the coast of Maine. He 
went away and returned with another Indian named 
Squanto. Squanto had once been stolen by traders and 
sold into slavery in Spain. An Englishman had rescued 
him and sent him back to his own people. For this reason 
he became the firm friend of the white men at Plymouth. 
Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant- their corn 
and how to fertilize the ground by dropping a dead 
herring by the side of each grain. He also showed ^hem 
how to catch fish. By his aid a treaty of friendship 
that lasted for more than fifty years was made with 
Massasoit (Mas'sa-soit), the Indian chief. 

William Bradford had been chosen to succeed John 
Carver as governor of the colony. Canomcus Bradford and 
(Can-on'T-cns) was the chief of the Narragan- «» 
sett Indians, a tribe unfriendly to the whites. Canomcus 
sent Governor Bradford a challenge in the shape ot a 



54 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

bundle of arrows tied with a snake skin, Bradford 
returned the snake skin filled with powder and shot. 
When Canonicus saw that Bradford was not afraid, he 
decided to let him and his brave men alone. 

The first summer passed, the autumn came on, 
and the corn had ripened in the field. The Pilgrims 
„^ , . . had built their homes and the Indians were 

Tnanksgiving 

friendly. The colonists desired to show their 
gratitude to God by giving a week of Thanksgiving. 
The young men and the Indians shot deer and wild 
turkeys. The women gathered the corn and cooked 
the food. Under the trees the tables were spread. 
The men sat down with their Indian friends while their 
wives and the maidens served them. There were 
shooting matches and sports of all kinds, in which the 
Indians joined. It was our first Thanksgiving. 

Eight years after the Plymouth colony was founded, 
a body of Puritans came from England and formed a 
settlement on the coast a few miles farther north. 
Salem and They named the colony Salem. Two years 
Boston afterwards about one thousand more Puritans 
came over, under the leadership of John Winthrop, 
and made a settlement which they named Boston. 

The colonies in New England grew in size and number 
as people came from England. By 1640 as many as 
twenty thousand colonists had found homes in what 
is now called the State of Massachusetts. 



EXILES FROM THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 55 

QUESTIONS 

What did the colonists do when spring came? What can 
you say of Samoset? What can you say of Squanto? What 
did Squanto teach the colonists? What treaty of peace was 
made? Who succeeded Governor Carver? Who was Canon- 
icus? How did Governor Bradford treat the challenge of 
Canonicus? Describe the first Thanksgiving. What other 
towns were founded in New England? How many colonists 
had come to New England by 1640? 



LESSON 19 
EXILES FROM THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 

Roger Williams was a young Puritan minister who 
had left England on account of persecution. He 
preached first at Salem, but afterwards at Roger wu- 
Plymouth and in the other colonies. His ^^^^^ 
views were much in advance of the religious ideas of 
the times. He did not believe that one should be forced 
to attend church, nor compelled to contribute to the 
support of religion. He denied the right of the king to 
grant the lands of New England to the colonists, saying 
that the soil belonged to the Indians. He preached so 
many strange doctrines that the General Court at 
Boston ordered him to return to England. 

Williams had already learned the Indian language. 
He had slept in the cabins, and eaten of the food of the 
savages. Instead of returning to England, he escaped 



56 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Roger Williams among the Indians 



into the forest and sought his Indian friends. It was 
Providence ^^ ^^^ heart of winter. Through snow and ice 
founded, he Wandered until he reached the wigwam of 
Massasoit. In the spring he, with five others, 
went to Narragansett Bay and selected a place for a 
colony. He named it Providence. 

Other settlers found their way to the home of the 
exile. Land was bought from the Indians, who prom- 
ised not to disturb the new settlement. This was the 
beginning of the colony of Rhode Island 



EXILES FROM THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 



57 



The men in Boston were accustomed to hold meet- 
ings to which women were not admitted. In these 
meetings they discussed rehgious and pohtical matters. 
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of talent Mrs. Anne 
and spirit, declared that women had a right ^^^^^^^^son 
to speak. Accordingly, she held meetings in her house 
and discussed public affairs. Her teachings were quite 




ntuckET J^ 

Settlements in the New England Colonies 

different from those of the ministers, and soon the 
whole colony was divided into factions. Mrs. Hutchin- 
son was exiled from the colony, as Williams had been. 
She made her way to the settlement of Roger Williams, 
and afterwards she and her followers founded colonies 
at Portsmouth and at Newport. 



58 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

In the same year that Roger WiUiams founded Provi- 
dence, another preacher, Thomas Hooker, dissatisfied 
Thomas with the government of Boston, gathered his 
Hooker congregation and started on a journey through 
the wilderness. They traveled slowly, driving their 
cows before them, and finally settled in the Connecticut 
valley, beginning the town of Hartford. Other colo- 
nists followed, and other towns were founded. These 
towns were united into one government and called 
Connecticut. These towns agreed to be governed by 
the provisions of a written constitution. It is the 
first time in history that a written constitution was 
adopted to create a government. It marked the 
beginnings of American democracy. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was Roger Williams? Where did he preach? What 
can you say of his views? In what did lie not believe? What 
did he deny? What did the General Court order? Where did 
Williams go? What colony did he found? Of what state was 
it the beginning? What can you say of Mrs. Anne Hutchin- 
son? What was the result of her meetings? To what settle- 
ment did she first go? What colonies did she and her followers 
found? What can you say of Thomas Hooker? What town 
did he and his congregation begin? What can you say of their 
written constitution? 



JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE TO THE INDIANS 59 

LESSON 20 
JOHN ELIOT, THE APOSTLE TO THE INDIANS 

When the colonists came to America they found 
Indians living in all parts of the country. Some of the 
Indian tribes were friendly, and some of them Fear of the 
were hostile. With some the colonists made ^^^^^^^ 
treaties of peace and friendship; with others there was 
constant war. The colonists lived in great dread of 
Indian uprisings. In those uprisings the Indians 
burned the dwellings and massacred the colonists 
without mercy or carried them away as prisoners. 

To protect themselves, the colonists built stockade 
forts, consisting of a few houses surrounded by a tall 
fence. For further protection block-houses Forts and 
were also built. In these forts and block- ^lock-houses 
houses the colonists found a refuge from danger, as well 
as a place from which they could fight the savages to 
advantage. In such constant watchfulness did the 
colonists live that it was the rule for the men always 
to have their guns at hand. They carried their guns 
to the field when they went to work, and took them to 
church when they went to worship. 

It was not the purpose of the English colonists to 
make war on the savages, as the Spaniards 

^ ^ John Eliot 

had done. The English desired peace and were 
anxious to teach the savages to live a civilized life. 



60 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

For this purpose schools were estabUshed for the In- 
dians and preachers were sent to their villages. Among 
the most noted of these preachers was John Eliot, the 
^^ Apostle to the Indians/^ 

John Eliot came from England eleven years after the 
settlement of Plymouth. He had been a busy student 
at college and had diligently studied different languages. 
For fourteen years he devoted himself to the study of 
the Indian language, and wrote for the Indians a trans- 
lation of the Bible. 

Eliot's Bible is a curious book, very rare and costly 
at the present day, and one which very few can read. 
^,. , «.,., To designate a good chief, such as Joshua or 

Eliot's Bible ^ ^ ^ 

Gideon, Ehot used the word ^^mugwump,'' 
a word which we sometimes hear at the present day. 

After he had been in Massachusetts for fifteen years 
Eliot began preaching to the Indians in their own 
Preaching to language. He went from village to village, 
the Indians gathered the Indians under the trees, and 
preached to them by the hour. The Indians were kept 
awake by the distribution of presents. His sermons 
were very long. The savages could ill appreciate a 
religion that kept them from slaying and scalping their 
enemies. Some were converted, but others listened 
with scorn. 

After twenty years of preaching the number of the 
converted or 'Spraying Indians," as they were called in 



KING PHILIP'S WAR 61 

derision, reached four thousand. These were mainly 
from the weaker tribes in New England. The great 
tribes of Wampanoags and Narragansetts, which gave 
so much trouble, furnished few converts. 

QUESTIONS 

What did the colonists find on coming to America? What 
was the difference between the Indian tribes? Of what were 
the colonists in constant dread? How did the colonists protect 
themselves? What was the rule about having guns? How 
did the Enghsh desire to treat the savages? What were estab- 
lished among the Indians? Who were sent to their villages? 
Who was John Eliot? What did John Eliot study? What did 
he translate into the Indian language? What word do we get 
from Eliot's Bible? Describe Eliot's preaching to the Indians. 
How many converted Indians were there in twenty years? What 
can you say of them? 



LESSON 21 
KING PHILIP'S WAR 

Massasoit, the chief of the Wampanoags, was the 
true friend of the settlers of New England. He had 

two young sons whom he brought to the Alexander 

governor at Pl>anouth, saying, "I wish you ^""^^^^^ 
to give English names to my boys." The governor 
named one of them Alexander and the other Philip. 
After Massasoit died Alexander became chief in his 
stead. The people of Plymouth heard that Alexander 



62 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

was plotting mischief and sent for him. He came 
reluctantly, and proved that he was innocent of the 
charges against him. On his way homeward he was 
seized with fever and died. The Indians, however, 
thought that he had been poisoned, and began to plot 
revenge against the whites. 

Philip became chief and nursed his wrath for years. 
All the Indians, including the Narragansetts, resolved 
on an uprising against the whites. One Sunday a 
party of Indians attacked the town of Swansea, and 
murdered some of the people as they were coming from 
church. A dreadful war, led by King Philip, as he 
Kin Phiii 's ^^^ called, and known as King Philip's War, 
War, 1675- now eusucd. Many towns were burned, and 
over six hundred white men were killed or cap- 
tured by the Indians. As for the savages their losses 
were even greater. 

At length Philip and his followers were chased into 
a swamp in Rhode Island. One of Philip's braves 
advised him to surrender. For this advice the chief 
lifted his tomahawk and struck the Indian dead. The 
brother of the slain warrior swiftly crept through the 
bushes to the camp of the white men and offered to 
guide them to the hiding place of King Philip. 

The party soon reached the place in the swamp 
where the chief was concealed. As soon as Philip saw 
them he started to run, but the Indian guide raised his 



KING PHILIPS WAR 



63 



rifle and shot him through the heart. PhiUp fell forward 
into a pool of water and his followers took to flight. His 
head was cut off and sent to Plymouth, where Death of 
it was exposed upon a pole in the village ^^^^ 
green. This was the end of King PhiUp's War. Many 
of the captives, including the nine-year-old son of 
Phihp, were sold as slaves. The power of the Indians 
in that part of the country was broken forever, and the 
colonies were left to prosper in peace. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of Massasoit? What names were given 
his two sons? Describe the circumstances of Alexander's death. 
Who then became chief? Upon what did the Indians resolve? 
Describe the attack on Swansea. What war ensued? By 
whom was it led and what was it called? What happened dur- 
ing that war? What losses were sustained? Describe the 
death of King Philip. What became of many of the captives? 




Death of King Philip 



64 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

LESSON 22 
THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW AMSTERDAM 

We have seen that the EngUsh settled in Virginia, 
and in New England. Let us now learn how the Dutch 
founded an American colony that has since become 
the great city of New York. 

Two years after Jamestown was settled, and eleven 
years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, a Dutch 
Henry Hud- ship, Commanded by Henry Hudson, an 
son Englishman, entered what is now New York 

Bay. The ship was named the Half Moon. Hudson 
had been sent out by a Dutch Company, known as the 
East India Company, to find a short way to China. 
He did not know how far west the new world extended, 
but hoped to find some strait that would allow his 
vessel to pass through to the Pacific Ocean. 

His ship entered the mouth of a river which in his 
honor was afterwards named the Hudson River. The 
_ , ^, Half Moon sailed up this river as far as the 

Explores the -^ ^ ^ 

Hudson present city of Albany. Here it became evi- 
dent to Hudson that there was no chance of 
reaching China by this route. Accordingly, he sailed 
down the river and returned to Holland. 

When Hudson reported to the Dutch Company what 
explorations he had made, they at once claimed all the 
land on both sides of the Hudson River. Colonists were 



THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW AMSTERDAM 



6b 



sent over to establish posts 
for trading with the Indians. 
The savages were eager to 
exchange valuable furs for 
cheap trinkets, glass beads, 
pocket - knives, and brass 
jewelry. 

A trading post was estab- 
lished on the lower end of 
New Amster- Manhattan Island, 
dam, 1614 rpj^^g settlement was 
named New Amsterdam, after 
the city of Amsterdam in 
Holland. It was on the site 
of the present city of New 
York. The Indians were 
persuaded to sell the entire 
island to the Dutch for a 
lot of cheap trinkets, worth 
about twenty - four dollars. 
The entire region claimed by 
the Dutch was called New 
Netherland. 

The thrifty Dutch soon 
started a prosperous trade 
with the Indians. They lived 
peaceably with them, buying 




.^^m 



The Settlement of New York 



66 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



i^l^^^^^S^- 




1 


W 


mfey^' 




rriBvi^ T^'^IP 


^n^ft 


325^^^* 


'^armi^^^Jk 


rai^^^AHi^ 


IS^i^^ 



Henry Hudson explores the Hudson River 

their lands for almost nothing, and trading gaudy 
jewelry for costly furs. The settlements increased 
in number, and New Amsterdam grew into impor- 
tance as a colony as well as a trading post. 

QUESTIONS 

Of what are we now to learn? What ship entered New York 
Bay, and when? What was the name of the ship? Of what 
was Hudson in search? What did he hope to find? How far 
did the Half Moon sail? What did Hudson then do? What 
did the Dutch then claim? For what purpose were posts es- 
tablished? For what were the savages eager? Where was a 
trading post established and what name was given to it? For 
how much was Manhattan Island purchased? What name was 
given to the entire region? What can you say of the Dutch? 
What can you say of the settlements? 







m 






LESSON 23 
HEW AMSTERDAM BECOMES 
HEW YORK 
GOVERNORS were sent 
over to take care of the 
Dutch colony at New Am- 
sterdam. The most noted ot 
these was Peter Stuyvesant 
(Sti've-sant). 

Governor Stuyvesant had 
been a soldier in the old 
country, and had lost a 
leg It was replaced by a 
wooden leg with ret«8t»y- 
Q silver band on 
I The people called him 
'old Silver Leg." He was 
a brave and good governor^ 
He would not allow the 
Merchants to sell whiskey 



Pbtpbr Stuyvesant 



67 



68 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

to the Indians. He compelled everybody to go to 
church, and established schools for the children. 
Though he was a good governor, he was cross and high- 
tempered. If the people did not behave to suit him, 
he berated them soundly and punished them severely. 

The Dutch lived very comfortably in New Amster- 
dam. They built wind- mills for grinding corn, and 
breweries for making beer. They had queerly shaped 
houses, with odd looking gables. In front were little 
stoops or porches on which the stolid Dutch mer- 
chants sat in the evenings and smoked their long 
pipes. Inside the houses were huge fireplaces, where 
great logs of wood burned in the winter time. The 
floors were scoured as clean as soap and sand could 
make them. 

The Dutch were a peaceable people. They planted 
their gardens, pastured their cows, indulged in their 
^ , ^ ,., . sports, and desired to be let alone in their 

Dutch life m ^ ^ 

NewAmster- new homes. They introduced into America 
the custom of celebrating Christmas by the 
giving of presents, and of paying calls on New Year's 
Day, to wish one's friends a happy and prosperous 
year. Many of the names of the old Dutch families 
are proudly borne by their descendants. 

The English had by no means given up their claim 
to the land on which the Dutch had settled. Cabot 
had explored all the territory which the Dutch 



NEW AMSTERDAM BECOMES NEW YORK 69 

had named New Netherlands and the English still 
considered it as their own. For many years they paid 
no attention to the quiet Dutch at New ^^^-^^ ^^^ 
Amsterdam. At last, when fifty years had demand the 
passed and the Dutch colony had become of 
some importance, England decided to demand the terri- 
tory from them. Accordingly, one day some English 
ships sailed into the harbor of New Amsterdam. The 
commander of the ships wrote a demand to Peter 
Stuyvesant to surrender the town to the English. 
Governor Stuyvesant was in a rage and refused to 
surrender. He strode around, tore up the paper con- 
taining the demand, and stormed at the people who 
were willing to surrender. 

The people, however, were tired of Peter Stuyvesant 
and agreed to surrender to the English. Accordingly, 
the English soldiers marched in and took New York, 
possession of the place. All the Dutch ter- ^^®* 
ritory was given by the King of England to his brother, 
the Duke of York. The name of the territory and of 
the town was changed to New York. New York has 
grown to be one of the great cities of the world. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was the most noted of the governors of New Amster- 
dam? What can you say of Peter Stuyvesant? What were 
some of his rules? What can you say of his temper? What 
did the Dutch build? Describe their homes. Describe the life 



70 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

of the Dutch. What customs did they introduce into America? 
What claim did the EngUsh still maintain, and why? When did 
they decide to demand the territory? How was the demand 
made? How did Governor Stuyvesant treat the demand? 
What did the people do? What name did New Amsterdam 
receive? 



LESSON 24 



LORD BALTIMORE AND THE COLONY OF 
MARYLAND 

Among the religious sects that were persecuted in 
England were the Roman Catholics. Members of this 
Catholics in sect had uo religious or political rights in 
England England. Often they were treated harshly, 
were compelled to pay heavy fines, were thrown into 
jails, and were driven from place to place. Naturally 
they desired to find a place where they could worship 
undisturbed. 

Among the Catholics in England was George Cal- 
vert. He was a friend of the king, and had been 
George granted the title of Lord Baltimore. Lord 
Calvert Baltimore desired to found a colony in 
America for his persecuted brethren. He visited the 
colony in Virginia, looking for a suitable place, but 
was told there that he would have to take an oath 
acknowledging the King of England to be the head of 
the church. ^^I cannot take that oath/' said he. ^^I 



THE COLONY OF MARYLAND 



71 



Maryland 



am a loyal subject of the King of England, but I 
acknowledge the Pope to be the head of the church/' 
After this declaration Lord Baltimore had to retire 
from Virginia. 

He went back to England and persuaded the king 
to grant him a tract of land north of the Potomac 
River for a Catholic 
colony. The king 
made the grant and named the 
territory Maryland, in honor 
of his queen, Henrietta Maria, 
who was a good Catholic. 
Lord Baltimore died soon 
after, and his plans were 
carried on by his son, Cecil 
Calvert, the second Lord Balti- 
more. 

The charter of the colony 
contained very liberal pro- 
visions. Lord Baltimore was the proprietor of the 
land, with little or no dependence upon the king. He 
and the colonists were allowed to make whatever 
laws they chose. All religions were to be tolerated, 
Protestant as well as Roman Catholic. In token of 
his allegiance, Lord Baltimore was required to send 
each year to the king two Indian arrows. 

Cecil Calvert decided to send his brother, Leonard, 




JAMESTOWN 



Settlement in Maryland 



72 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

with the colonists. Two vessels, the Dove and the 
Ark, brought over two hundred colonists, who landed 
« „ , near the mouth of the Potomac River and 

St. Mary's 

founded, fouudcd the town of St. Mary's. This was 
twenty- seven years after Jamestown was 
settled. The Indians were very friendly and welcomed 
the colonists. Lands already cleared were given to the 
newcomers. The Indians showed the men how to 
plant corn. The squaws taught the women how to 
make ''pone'' and ''hominy." At the first harvest 
the colonists sent a shipload of corn to New England 
in exchange for a cargo of codfish. There was no 
starving time in Maryland, and no trouble from the 
Indians, as had been the case in some of the other 
colonies. 

St. Mary's continued to be the capital of Maryland 
for a long time. After a while the capital was moved 
Baltimore, to Auuapohs, and St. Mary's went into decay. 
1729 After the lapse of nearly a hundred years the 

great city of Baltimore was begun and named for the 
noble founder of the colony of Maryland. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of the persecution of the Roman Catholics 
in England? Who was George Calvert? What title had he 
acquired? What did he desire? What colony did he visit? 
What oath was he asked to take? What did he say? What 
then did he do? What grant of land was given to him? What 



THE COLOXY OF PENNSYLVANIA 



73 



was the land named, and for whom? What were some of the 
provisions of the charter? Where did the colonists land? 
What town was founded? What can you say of the Indians? 
How did the colony prosper? What city became the capital 
after a while? When was Baltimore founded? 



LESSON 25 



WILLIAM PENN AND THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Another religious sect in England that suffered 
persecution was the Society of Friends, or Quakers, 
Customs of as they are commonly called. They lived 
the Quakers ^ ^^^y. g^niple life, dressiug in the plainest 
clothes, and living on the sim- 
plest fare. They addressed 
every man by his given name, 
and said, ^Hhou'^ and "ihee^^ 
instead of ^^you.'^ They did 
not believe in war, or in going 
to law to settle their diffi- 
culties. They kept their hats 
on in church, and would not 
remove them in the presence 
of even a king. The Quakers 
were not allowed to hold meet- William Penn 

ings within five miles of any town, were hooted at 
on the streets, and many were thrown into filthy 
prisons. 




74 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Among the Quakers was William Perm, a young 
man of distinguished family. His father was an ad- 
miral in the navy, and a friend of the king. 
Penn's father was mortified at his son's be- 
coming a Quaker, and was so angry that he drove 
him from home. The young Penn became a Quaker 
preacher, and wrote books in defence of their cus- 
toms. When the old admiral saw that his son could 
not be changed from his purpose he allowed him to 
return home. 

When Admiral Penn died, his son William inherited 

his fortune. The king owed the estate a large sum of 

, . money which he could not readily pay. 

Pennsylvania ^ i i i • i i 

granted and William Pcuu proposcd to the kmg that he 
settle the debt by making a grant of land in 
America in payment. Upon this land Penn intended 
to found a colony for the persecuted Quakers. The 
king agreed to this, and after making the grant he 
named the territory Pennsylvania, or Penn's Wood- 
land, in honor of the admiral, William Penn's father. 

The story is told that when Penn was ready to 
start for America, he went to pay his respects to 
Penn and the king. The king jokingly told him that 
King Charles j^^ would uevcr sce him again, since, in all 
probability, the savages would kill him. '^I shall be 
friends with the savages,'' replied Penn, ''and as I 
intend to pay them for their lands they will not dis- 



THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA 



75 




turb me/' The king was astonished, and asked Penn 
why he intended to buy lands that were the king's by 
right of discovery. 
^^ Discovery!" said 
Penn, ^^ Suppose a 
canoe full of savages 
had landed in Eng- 
land, would they own 
the realm by right of 
discovery ? " To this 
the king made no 
reply. 

Three shiploads of 
colonists were sent 
over to America at once. Penn himself soon followed 
with another shipload. Sailing up the Dela- Philadelphia 
ware River he came to a place which he ^°'^^®^' -^^^^ 
chose for the site of a town. He named it Philadelphia, 
which means brotherly love. Colonists poured into 
this new town so rapidly that in four years it was 
larger than New York. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of the Quakers? How did they live? 
What was their form of address? In what did they not be- 
Heve? What were they not allowed to do? Who was William 
Penn? How did his father treat him? What did Penn be- 
come? What inheritance did Penn receive? What did Penn 



Settlement in Pennsylvania 



76 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

propose to the king? What name did the king give the ter- 
ritory granted to Penn? Tell the story of Penn's reply to the 
king. What city was founded by the Quakers? What does 
the name mean? How rapidly did it grow? 



LESSON 26 
PENN'S TREATY WITH THE DELA WARES 

A FEW months after landing Penn called the chiefs 

of the Delaware Indians together in order to form a 

, treaty of peace and friendship with them. 

Penn meets . 

theDeia- The meeting occurred on the banks of the 
Delaware River, under a great elm tree. The 
Indians sat on the ground in a half circle, while Penn 
and his Quaker friends, who had come to the meeting 
unarmed, addressed them. He called them friends and 
brothers, and compared the red men and the white 
men to different parts of the human body, all depend- 
ent upon each other, and each dependent upon all. 

The red men were deeply impressed by his words, 
and promised to live in peace with the Quakers as long 

p nn's ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ moon gave light. This 

treaty, June treaty was faithfully kept by both parties. 

23 1683 »/ X «/ J. 

The Indians learned to love the Quakers, until 
it is said that the Quaker dress was a better protection 
from the Indians than a gun, and that when an 
Indian wished to express his admiration for a white 
man he would say, ^^He is like William Penn.'^ 



PENN'S TREATY WITH THE DELAWARES 77 

The great elm under which the treaty was made re- 
mained standing for a hundred and twenty- seven 
years, when it was blown down in a storm. The city 




William Penn makes a Treaty with the Indians 

of Philadelphia has grown up around the place, and a 
monument marks the spot where the great treaty was 
made. 

Penn always bought the lands from the Indians. 
He never took any territory by force. Upon one occa- 
sion he bargained for a tract of land as far from the 
Delaware as a man could walk in three days. Penn 



78 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

and a few friends, accompanied by the Indians, 
walked thirty miles in a day and a half. The rest of 
the journey was left to be completed later. Long 
after Penn's death, the whites employed a famous 
hunter to finish the walk. He covered sixty miles in 
the remaining day and a half, greatly to the chagrin 
of the Indians. 

The boundary line between Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land was a matter of dispute for many years. It was 
„ ^ finally agreed to leave the matter to two 

Mason and j a 

Dixon's une, surveyors named Mason and Dixon, who ran 
a line between the two colonies. This line 
became known as Mason and Dixon's line. At every 
mile a stone was set in the ground; on the north side 
the letter ^^P'^ was carved, and on the south side the 
letter ^^B'^ was carved. One letter stood for Penn 
and the other for Baltimore. This boundary line in 
after years became famous as the dividing line be- 
tween the slave states in the South and the free states 
in the North. 

QUESTIONS 

Describe the great treaty with the Indians. What regard 
did the Indians show the Quakers? What did they think of 
WilUani Penn? What became of the great elm? Describe one 
of the bargains with the Indians for land. Describe Mason 
and Dixon's line. For what did it become famous in after 
years? 



THE CAROLINA COLONIES. 



79 



* TUscaroraa 
NORTH CAROLINA' 

Catawbaa ..„..„^„ . 



LESSON 27 
THE CAROLINA COLONIES 

Between the Spanish settlements in Florida and 
the Enghsh settlements in Virginia there was a large 
territory, much of 
which was disputed 
ground. The Span- 
ish claimed it as a 
part of Florida; the 
English claimed it as 
a part of Virginia. 
We shall see that the 
English paid no atten- 
tion to the claims of 
the Spanish. 

A few Virginians 
had ventured to make 
settlements along 
Albemarle Sound, and 
emigrants from New 
England and else- 
where had formed a 
colony at the mouth 
of Cape Fear River. 

After the northern colonies were settled and flour- 
ishing, and when Virginia was about fifty years old, 




Settlements in the Far South 



80 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Charles II, King of England, granted all the territory 
between Virginia and Florida to eight of his friends. 
Carolina The territory had already been named Caro- 
granted,i663 jj^j^^^ and this name was retained in the 
grant. The settlements along Albemarle Sound were 
organized into the Albemarle Colony. This colony 
was the beginning of the state of North Carolina. 

The settlements at the mouth of the Cape Fear River 
became known as the Clarendon Colony. In a few 
years a body of emigrants from England sailed up the 
Ashley River and founded a settlement which they 
named Charlestown in honor of the king. This last 
settlement became the city of Charleston and was the 
beginning of the state of South Carolina. 

Colonists came rapidly into Carolina. From Vir- 
ginia came settlers looking for homes and adventures. 
Growth of From New England came colonists seeking a 
the colony i^]\^ climate, a fertile soil, and freedom from 
the severe laws of the Puritans. A large body of 
French Protestants, escaping from political and reli- 
gious persecution, came to find homes in Carolina. 
There were colonists also from the West Indies, Eng- 
land, and Scotland. 

The proprietors asked John Locke, a famous philos- 
opher, to draw up a plan of government for the 
colony of Carolina. Locke made an unwise plan, by 
which lords and nobles were to control the land and 



THE CAROLINA COLONIES 



81 



The Grand 
Model 



make the laws. The common people were to have no 
voice in the government. The plan was known as 
the Grand Model. For 

twenty years the 

proprietors tried to 
work this plan, but the peo- 
ple were so much opposed 
to it that it was abandoned. 
The people of Carolina 
soon found profitable occu- 
pation in the rich pine forests 
that yielded lumber, tar, 
Tobacco, rice, pitch, and tur- 

and slavery pgntiue. TobaC- 

co grew abundantly in 

the northern colony, and 

became a source of 

wealth to the people. A 

ship from Madagascar 

brought a bag of rice to 

Charleston. The grains 

were planted and the 

result was a great ^ - 

success. The rich, 

swampy lands on the 

coast were well suited to the cultivation of rice and 

it rapidly grew into importance as a crop. To culti- 




The Original Rice Mill 



82 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

vate the tobacco and rice, slaves were brought into 
the colony. So profitable was their labor that the 
great planters of the Carolinas had large numbers of 
negro slaves on their plantations in South Carolina. 
At one time the slaves quite outnumbered the white 
people. 

After many years the proprietors surrendered their 
rights to the King of England, and Carolina was divided 
into two royal provinces, North Carolina and South 
Carolina. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of the territory between Florida and Vir- 
ginia? What settlements were made along the coast? What 
grant was made by Charles II? What name had already been 
given to this territory? What colonies were organized? What 
colony was the beginning of North Carolina? What colony was 
the beginning of South Carolina? Mention some of the colo- 
nists that came to South Carolina. What was the plan of 
government prepared by John Locke? What became of it? 
What occupations did the people of South Carolina find profit- 
able? What can you say of the cultivation of rice? What can 
you say of the slaves? Into what two royal provinces was 
Carolina divided? 




JAMES OGLETHORPE AND THE 
COLONY OF GEORGIA 

Many years ago it was the 
custom in England to im- 
prison persons for debt. If a 
man was unfortunate and 
owed money which he was 
unable to pay, his creditor 
had the right to put him in 
prison until the debt was in 
gome way paid. In this way 
there were many unhappy 
persons in the jails of Eng- 
land who suffered great hard- 
ship on account of their 
misfortunes. 

83 



84 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



James Oglethorpe was an English soldier and states- 
man who became deeply interested in the condition of 
these unhappy debtors. He visited the jails jamesOgie- 
and heard their stories and resolved to do ^^^""^^ 
something to aid them. Knowing there was plenty of 
land in America, he petitioned the king, George II, for 
a grant of territory between South Carolina and Florida 
in which he could found a colony for the poor people 
of England. The grant was readily 
made, and the territory was named 
Georgia in honor of the king. 

Many persons wished to join the 
colony. Oglethorpe received no 
debtor without the consent The colonists 
of his creditor, no criminals °^ ^^^^s^^ 
or wicked persons were accepted, and 
no person was admitted who would 
leave others dependent upon him 
for support. Altogether Oglethorpe collected thirty- 
five families, containing one hundred and thirty per- 
sons, and sailed with them to the shores of Georgia. 

The colonists landed first at Charleston, where they 
were entertained by the people of that place. Ogle- 
thorpe took a few friends and went in an g^^^j^^^j^ 
Indian canoe to find a site for his colony. He founded, 
rowed up the Savannah River to a bluff four- 
teen miles from the mouth, and landed. Here he 




Oglethorpe 



JAMES OGLETHORPE 



85 



found a village of Yamacraw Indians and a trading 
post. Oglethorpe and the Indians became friends, and 
after a short while he brought the colonists to their 
new homes. The settlement was named Savannah. 




Map of the Original Territory of Georgia 



Oglethorpe treated the Indians with great kindness. 
One of them said: ''We love him because he has given 
us everything we wish. He has given me the coat off 
his back and the blanket from under him.^^ One day 
an Indian strolled into the village and some one asked 
him if he was not afraid. To this he replied, ''I was 
never afraid among my enemies, why should I fear 
when with my friends?" 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




*# 



A Scotch Highlander 



The colony 
of Georgia 
was open 
to the op- 
pressed of 
all nations. 
^-^ Scarcely 

had Savan- 
nah been laid out when 
forty Jews joined ^^^^^^^^^_ 
the colony. A few nists in 
months afterwards ^^^^^^ 
a ship arrived bringing a 
band of Salzburghers (Soltz- 
bmg-ers), who had been 
driven out of Germany on 
account of their religion. 
They were given a home on 
the river, twenty -five miles 
above Savannah. Later 
on, Swiss, Moravians, and 
Scotch Highlanders were 
given grants of land along 
the coast. In this way 
Georgia was settled and 
soon became a flourishing 
colony. 



THE SPANISH INVASION OF GEORGIA 87 

QUESTIONS 

What was the custom in England regarding debtors ? Who 
was James Oglethorpe? What did he do? For what did he 
petition the king? What name was given the territory granted? 
What persons did Oglethorpe admit to his colony? How many 
families were collected? How many persons? Where did the 
colonists first land? Where did Oglethorpe select the site for 
his colony? What did he find there? What was the name of 
the settlement? Describe the way he treated the Indians. 
What other colonists joined the colony of Georgia? 



LESSON 29 
THE SPANISH INVASION OF GEORGIA 

The Spaniards in Florida threatened to invade 
Georgia, and to destroy Savannah and the other towns. 
Oglethorpe did not wait for them to carry out o^i^ti^orpe 
their threat, but sailed with a body of soldiers attacks st. 

' 1111 Augustine 

to St. Augustine and bombarded the place. 
For twenty days his cannon threw shot and shell into 
the city, until over four hundred Spaniards had been 
killed. Oglethorpe then returned with his army to 
Georgia, having lost only fifty men. 

Two years later a Spanish army of five thousand 
men landed on St. Simon's Island, determined to exter- 
minate the colony there. Oglethorpe had ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ 
scarcely a thousand men to oppose them. He 
laid an ambush for the Spaniards, into which they 
marched. A deadly fire was poured upon the unsus- 



88 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



pecting enemy, who fled into the woods leaving nearly 
three hundred dead. The locality was afterwards 
called Bloody Marsh. 

One of Oglethorpe's men had deserted and gone into 
the Spanish camp. The general knew that the de- 
serter would in- 
form the Spanish 
of the small size 
of his army, and 
thereupon resolved 
to defeat his pur- 
pose, if possible. 
Accordingly, he 
wrote to the de- 
serter a note, tell- 
ing him to be sure 
;^» j ^o inform the 
^W I Spanish that his 

army was small, 

and to keep them 

on the island for 

a few days longer so that he could attack 

them. 

He gave the letter to a Spanish prisoner, and set him 

free, asking him to deliver it to the deserter. Of 

course the letter was a decoy letter, and, as Oglethorpe 

suspected, was carried by the prisoner to the Spanish 




Ruins on 

St. Simon's 



iP^ 



THE SPANISH INVASION OF GEORGIA 89 

headquarters. It produced great alarm in the Spanish 
camp. The commander thought that the deserter had 
deceived him, and that Oglethorpe had an^.^^^^^^^^ 
immense force and would swoop down on Spanish inva- 
him and capture or kill his whole army. 
Therefore, in great haste the Spanish packed up and 
s iled awa}^, leaving Oglethorpe in possession of the 
island. This ended the Spanish invasion of Georgia, 
and Spain made no further claim to the territory of 
Georgia. The question of the Spanish claim to any 
territory north of Florida was settled forever. 

Oglethorpe lived in Georgia for over ten years. He 
then returned to England, where he spent the remainder 
of his life in comfort, dying at the advanced age of 
ninety- six. He was one of the noblest men connected 
with the early history of our country. 

Thus we see that the English colonies were firmly 
established along the Atlantic coast from New England 
to Georgia, and that the Spanish were confined to the 
territory of Florida. We shall see further on in our 
story how both the French and the Spanish finally lost 
all the territory they owned in America. 

QUESTIONS 

What did the Spanish threaten to do? What did Oglethorpe 
do? What happened at St. Augustine? What were the losses 
on both sides? Describe the battle of Bloody Marsh. What 



90 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



had one of Oglethorpe's men done? What note did Oglethorpe 
write him? To whom did he give the note, and what did he 
tell him? What became of the note? What effect did it have? 
What did the Spanish do? What did this put an end to? 
What can you say of the last days of Oglethorpe? 




HOW THE FRENCH LOST AMERICA 



LESSON 30 
MARQUETTE EXPLORES THE MISSISSIPPI 

While the English were making settlements in 
America, the French were by no means idle. A French 
navigator had explored the Atlantic coast The French 
and another had discovered the St. Lawrence ^^ Canada 
River. About the time that Jamestown was settled, 
Champlain (Sham- plain'), a noted French soldier, had 
sailed up the St. Lawrence River and founded the town 
of Quebec. Settlements had been made elsewhere 
in Canada, along the St. Lawrence River and as far as 
the Great Lakes. All the northern part of America 
by this time was claimed by the French, and Quebec 
had grown to be an important colony. 

Among the French priests was Father Marquette (Mar- 
kef) . He and other priests built Catholic mission houses 
along the Great Lakes. These were little chapels made 
of bark, surmounted by a cross, and containing an altar. 
Here the good priests preached to the dusky warriors 
in the Indian language, trying to convert them from 
their savage ways. The Indians were friendly to the 

9] 



92 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




priests but did not take 
kindly to the religion of 
peace and good- will. 

The Indians told Mar- 
quette about a great river 
many miles to the west. 
No one could tell him 
into what waters it flowed. 
One day a Can- Marquette 
adian trader andjoiiet 

Johet (Zhol-yaO came to 
the mission where Mar- 
quette was^ and together 
they made plans to find out 
whether the river flowed 
into the Gulf of Mexico or 
into the Pacific Ocean. 
They did not know they 
were to explore the great 
river which De Soto had 
discovered, and which we 
call the Mississippi. 

Early in the spring Mar- 
quette and Joliet _. , . 

^ ^ Exploring 

started on their 
voyage. They 
had two canoes and five 



the Missis- 
sippi, 1673 



Explorers on the Mississippi 



MARQUETTE EXPLORES THE MISSISSIPPI 93 

boatmen. The weather was beautiful. They glided 
down the Wisconsin River until they came to the 
muddy waters of the Mississippi. On the broad 
bosom of this mighty stream for many days and 
weeks their frail canoes continued their voyage. Their 
course was southward. Sometimes they paddled under 
the shadows of great trees, then by the side of open 
prairies, then under overhanging bluffs. Every now 
and then the party would land to cook a hasty meal, 
but they generally slept in the canoes for fear of prowl- 
ing savages and wild beasts. 

One day they saw footprints on the shore. Mar- 
quette and Joliet followed the tracks until they came to 
an Indian village, whose inhabitants were astonished to 
see the white men. The Indians were friendly, and gave 
them plenty of food and buffalo skins. The Indians 
urged the white men not to go farther down the river, 
telling them of demons which guarded the passage. 

Marquette and Joliet, however, left their newly found 
friends and continued their voyage. They passed 
the mouth of the Missouri and of the Ohio and 
came to the mouth of the Arkansas. At this point 
the Indians told the voyagers of unfriendly tribes far- 
ther down, who would not let them pass. By this time 
Marquette and Joliet were quite sure that the river 
flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. They also feared that 
if they went farther they might fall into the hands of 



94 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



the Indians or of the Spaniards. Accordingly, they 
resolved to return to Canada. 




By permission of Singer Mfg. Co. 

Marquette and Joliet explore the Mississippi 

The return journey was very wearisome. Joliet 
finally reached Canada and told the governor at Quebec 
Death of of his advcutures. Father Marquette re- 
Marquette ^^j-ucd to his missiou. Nearly two years 
later the good priest started on a missionary journey 
along Lake Michigan. Worn out by work and hard- 
ship, he was so ill that his companions had to lift him 
into the canoe. One day they passed the mouth of a 
small stream and he begged the boatmen to put him 



THE FRENCH CLAIM LOUISIANA 95 

ashore. The party landed, and a rude hut was built for 
the dying priest. As he knelt to pray, the men walked 
away a short distance and left him alone. When they 
came back Father Marquette was dead. A river near 
the place where he died now bears the name of this 
noble missionary priest. 

QUESTIONS 

What city had Champlain founded? What settlements had 
been made by the French? What can you say of the north- 
eastern part of America? Who was Father Marquette? De- 
scribe a mission. How did the Indians treat the missionaries? 
What did Marquette resolve to do? Who joined him? De- 
scribe the beginning of their voyage. Describe their voyage 
down the Mississippi. Describe their reception at the Indian 
village. To what point did they go on their voyage? Why 
did they turn back? What did Joliet do? What became of 
Father Marquette? 

LESSON 31 
THE FRENCH CLAIM LOUISIANA 

Nine years after the voyage of Marquette and Joliet, 
La Salle (La SaP) , a bold French explorer living in Can- 
ada, started out with a fleet of canoes and a company of 
Frenchmen and Indian guides, to complete the explora- 
tion of the Mississippi. 

After much wandering and many adventures, cover- 
ing a period of several years, the explorer came to the 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




By permifision of ."Singer Mfg. Co. 

La Salle at the Mouth of the Mississippi 

mouth of the Mississippi River. A short distance 
above the mouth of the river La Salle and his men 
La Salle landed. A cross was raised bearing the arms 
reaches the of France. La Salle assembled the men 

mouth of the i i • i i • i • i i • 

Mississippi, arouud him and proclaimed m a loud voice, 
1682 ujj^ ^Yie name of Louis the Great, King of 

France, I take possession of this country. '^ He then 
named it Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV. The 
people shouted, ''Long live the King!'' Volleys of 
musketry were fired, hymns were chanted, and a 
leaden plate was buried in the earth, upon which 
was written, ''Louis the Great reigns." 



THE FRENCH CLAIM LOUISIANA 97 

In this way did France establish a claim to all the 
territory drained by the Mississippi, Missouri, and other 
tributary rivers. It was a vast tract of land, many 
times larger than the possessions of the English in 
America. 

Eleven years passed before the French undertook 
to colonize Louisiana. The French king placed four 
ships and two hundred colonists under com- 
mand of Iberville (E-ber-veF), a Canadian, who 
had risen to prominence in the naval service of France, 
with instructions to found a colony at the mouth of the 
Mississippi. Iberville sailed across the ocean, through 
the Gulf of Mexico, and proceeding carefully along the 
coast, determined not to miss the mouth of the 
Mississippi. 

The party entered the harbor of Pensacola, where 
they found a garrison of Spanish soldiers. Later on 
they came to Mobile Bay. Cautiously proceed- settlements 
ing westward, they came to the low, marshy ^^ i-o^^iana 
lands at the mouth of the Mississippi and turned their 
boats up the broad and muddy stream. Several weeks 
were spent in exploring the river. Iberville found no 
suitable place on the river for a colony. He returned 
to the coast and began a settlement on Biloxi Bay. 
Another settlement was started in a few years on 
Mobile Bay. 

Eighteen years after Iberville had explored the 



98 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

mouth of the Mississippi, Bienville (Be'-a-vel), his 
New Orleans, youHger brother, founded the city of New 
1718 Orleans. Within four years the town had 

prospered so greatly that it was made the capital of 
the vast region called Louisiana. 

France had now two important cities in America, 
one at Quebec and one at New Orleans, but between 
them lay two thousand miles of wilderness. To protect 
their claim the French, during the next fifty years, built 
a chain of sixty forts all the way from Montreal to 
New Orleans. Along the Ohio valley the French in 
many places selected trees, to which they nailed tin 
plates bearing the arms of France, and at the roots of 
the trees they buried leaden plates inscribed with the 
statement that the territory belonged to France. 

QUESTIONS 

Who undertook to complete the explorations of the Mis- 
sissippi River? Describe the way La Salle took possession of 
the territory. What name did he give it, and in whose honor? 
What can you say of this territory? What effort did Iberville 
make to found a colony? What places did his ship visit? 
What can you say of his explorations of the mouth of the 
Mississippi River? What places were settled? What can you 
say of New Orleans? What two great cities did France have 
in America? How did that country undertake to protect its 
claim? 



WASHINGTON TAKES A MESSAGE TO THE FRENCH 99 

LESSON 32 
WASHINGTON TAKES A MESSAGE TO THE FRENCH 

France and England both claimed the Ohio valley. 
The French built forts in this region, an act which 
alarmed Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia. He resolved 
to order them to withdraw from the territory. One 
day he sent for a young man named George Washington, 
and gave him a letter addressed to one of the French 
officers at one of the forts not far from Lake Erie. He 
directed Washington to deliver the note and return 
with an answer. 

Washington was then twenty- one years old. He had 
been a surveyor in the woods of Virginia, and knew 
a great deal about the Indians and the hard- George 
ships of frontier life. He was tall, strong, Washington 
and brave. All his life he had been pure, truthful, and 
manly. We shall see that he became one of the greatest 
men our country has ever produced. 

Washington saluted the governor, took the note, 
and with a few companions started on his journey 
through the wilderness. Over hills and The message 
mountains, through swamps and across rivers ^° ^^® French 
the party made their way. The snow was deep and 
the weather was cold. At last on a bleak December 
day Washington and his companions reached the 
French fort. Governor Dinwiddle's letter was handed 



100 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

to the French commander, who treated Washington 
with much kindness, but told him that he was in- 
structed to occupy and hold the fort, and that he had 
no intention of abandoning the territory. With this 
answer Washington was obliged to be content. 

His return journey was full of adventures. Hoping 
to make better time, he left his horses and started home- 
The return Ward ou foot with a single guide. At one 
journey place Washington was shot at by an Indian, 
whom the guide would have killed had not Washington 
interfered. In crossing the Allegheny River, Washing- 
ton was thrown from the raft into the icy water. 
He was a good swimmer and regained the raft, but 
was obliged to spend a bitterly cold night on an island 
in the river. The next morning the river was frozen 
over and the two went on their way. 

At last Washington, after an absence of seventy- 
eight days and a journey of twelve hundred miles, 
reached Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia, and 
reported the answer of the French commander to the 
governor. The answer, of course, meant war. Wash- 
ington's journey had made him famous, and in Virginia 
he was the hero of the hour. 

The French built a fort at the junction of the Alle- 
gheny and Monongahela Rivers, on the site of the pres- 
ent city of Pittsburg. They called it Fort DuQuesne 
(Du-kane'). Washington, in command of a body of 



WASHINGTON TAKES A MESSAGE TO THE FRENCH 101 

Virginia troops, marched against this fort. A short 
and sharp battle followed, in which ten of « _, , 

1 Ml 1 1 1 Battle of 

the enemy were killed and the rest driven Great Mead- 
into the woods. This was the battle of Great ^ ' 
Meadows. It was the beginning of the French and 
Indian War in America. 

In the wilderness of western Pennsylvania the hero 
of the American Revolution had his first experience in 
battle. In a letter written a few days afterwards to 
his brother, he said : ^^I fortunately escaped without any 
wound. I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, 
there is something charming in the sound.'' 

QUESTIONS 

What two nations claimed the Ohio valley? What had the 
French built? What did Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia re- 
solve to do? By whom did he send a letter to the French com- 
mander? What can you say of Washington? Describe his 
journey to the French fort. What was the reply of the com- 
mander? Describe the return journey. How long had Wash- 
ington been on the journey? How many miles had he traveled? 
What did the French build? Describe the battle of Great 
Meadows. What did Washington write to his brother? 



102 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



LESSON 33 
BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT 

About eight months after the events recorded in the 
last lesson, a British general appeared at the office of 
Governor Dinwiddie in Williamsburg. He wore a 

bright uniform, and had an 
important, military air. This 
was General Braddock, who had 
been sent by the British govern- 
ment, with two regiments, to 
take command of an expedition 
against the French forts in the 
North and West. 

Braddock set to work to 
collect wagons, food, and forage, 
and to get his army ready to 
move. He was a vain Braddock's 
and impatient officer. P'^eparations 
He expressed great contempt 
for the plain Virginia soldiers 
who wore hunting clothes and had but little military 
training, and he boasted of what the British soldiers 
could do. Braddock was a good soldier, but he knew 
nothing about fighting Indians in a tangled forest, and 
his obstinacy afterwards brought him to grief. 

After three months' preparation a force of thirteen 




General Braddock 



BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT 



103 



hundred men began their march across the mountains 
to attack Fort DuQuesne. Washington was a mem- 
ber of Braddock's staff, with the rank of Braddock's 
colonel. Axemen were sent on ahead to cut 
down the trees and prepare a road for the wagons and 
for the troops. Their progress was very slow. It 
was springtime, the weather was beautiful, the troops 
were well fed, and Braddock was in no hurry. 

Washington warned Braddock of the ways of Indian 
warfare. He told him to beware of an ambush. 
Braddock boastingly 
replied: ''These savages 
may indeed be a formi- 
dable enemy to your 
raw American militia, but 
upon the king's troops 
it is impossible for them 
to make any impres- 
sion." 

After nearly three 
months' marching Brad- 
dock came within a few 
miles of Fort DuQuesne. 
The French officer placed 




The French in the Ohio Valley 



his soldiers and the 
Indians in the woods on either side of the road over 
which the EngUsh must march on their way to attack 
the fort. 



104 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Braddock did what Washington had cautioned him 
not to do; he marched straight into an ambush. On 
The ambush, both sides was an unseen but watchful foe. 
^"^^^ Suddenly the hidden enemy opened fire on 

the advancing English, and whole ranks of men were 
slain by the flying bullets. The English regulars were 
in a panic. They did not know how to fight an enemy 
they could not see, and their bullets sank harmlessly 
into the trees or were fired uselessly into the air. 
They broke and ran in great disorder. 

Braddock rushed into the fight and fell from his 
horse, shot through the lungs. Washington and the 
Death of Virginia militia covered the retreat as best 
Braddock ^j^^y could. Washington seemed to bear a 
charmed life. Four bullets pierced his coat and two 
horses were killed under him, but he escaped unhurt. 
Everything fell into the hands of the French, and the 
English scattered in all directions for safety. Four 
days later Braddock died, saying in his last moments, 
^^We shall know better how to deal with them next 
time.'' When he was buried Washington himself, by 
the light of a pine torch, read the burial service, and 
the body of the brave, but foolish, general was laid away 
in the wild woods of western Pennsylvania. He had 
requested that his body be protected from the Indians. 
Accordingly he was buried in the middle of the road, 
and the whole army passed over his grave. 



JAMES WOLFE CAPTURES QUEBEC 105 

QUESTIONS 

Who came to take charge of an expedition against the 
French in the North and West? What can you say of Brad- 
dock? How long did it take to get ready to march? What 
officer went with him as a member of his staff? What can you 
say of the progress of the march? Of what did Washington 
warn Braddock? How had the French planned to receive the 
English? Describe the ambush. What became of Braddock? 
What can you say of Washington? 



LESSON 34 
JAMES WOLFE CAPTURES QUEBEC 

The city of Quebec is situated mainly on a bluff 
overlooking the St. Lawrence River. It had been the 
headquarters of the French in America for one hun- 
dred and fifty years. By this time it was a large and 
prosperous city, strongly fortified and heavily garri- 
soned. The English resolved to capture Quebec and 
thus end the war. 

Among the bravest of the British officers was James 
Wolfe. He was now thirty- two years of age, and 
highly regarded for his ability and courage. 
He was very gentle in his nature, and had al- 
ways been a devoted and dutiful son. His face was as 
smooth as that of a girl, but behind his soft and ten- 
der exterior beat the heart of a lion. 

The capture of Quebec was entrusted to Wolfe. He 



106 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



~f^^!- 



was in poor health at the time, and was always made 
ill by a sea voyage. His aged father needed his son's 
presence in England, and his sweetheart, to whom he 
expected shortly to be married, urged him to stay at 

home. But Wolfe said 
that if his country needed 
his services he was ready 
to go. 

Wolfe arrived before 
Quebec with his fleet of 
vessels. Three siege of 
hundred and ^^^^^^ 
more feet above the river 
frowned the great preci- 
pice, on the top of which 
lay the better part of the 
city. There was the 
French commander, the 
Marquis de Montcalm 
(Mon-camO, with a strong 
army ready to defend the 
citadel. When Wolfe saw 
the task before him he was indeed discouraged. How- 
ever, he set about a regular siege of Quebec, bom- 
barding that portion of the city that lay along the 
river bank, and engaging the troops of Montcalm 
whenever he had an opportunity. 




Wolfe's Monument 



JAMES WOLFE CAPTURES QUEBEC 107 

For two months and more the siege lasted. Wolfe 
was ill most of the time and very despondent. At 
length he hit upon a desperate plan that would be a 
great success or a great disaster; he resolved to scale 
the precipice with his troops and drive Montcalm from 
his citadel. 

One dark night the boats were lowered, filled with 
soldiers, and noiselessly rowed to the shore. Wolfe 
was in the foremost boat. The men landed scaling the 
and silently began to climb the precipice. p^®*^^p^<^® 
Montcalm had said that the English could never reach 
the citadel by that route unless they had wings, and, 
consequently, had not guarded the approach. When 
near the top the English were discovered by a senti- 
nel, who gave the alarm. 

Montcalm could hardly believe the report that the 
English had reached the Plains of Abraham, as the 
heights were called. He hastily mounted his horse 
and ordered his troops into battle. Wolfe was, of 
course, unmounted. Ill though he was, and carrying 
only a cane in his hand, he vigorously directed the 
troops. He ordered them to lie down so that the fire 
of the French would pass over their heads. When the 
enemy came within forty yards, the English troops rose 
and poured a deadly volley into their faces. That one 
discharge settled the issue of the battle. 

Montcalm was wounded and was borne from the 



108 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

field. Later on, as the English troops pressed for- 
ward, Wolfe was shot in the breast. '^Support me/' 
^ ,^ , said he to an officer near him; ^4et not the 

Death of ^ 

Wolfe and brave fellows see me drop.'' He was borne 
to the rear and in a short while heard the 
soldiers shouting '^They run! They run!" ^^Who 
run?" he asked. ^^The French," was the answer. 
^^God be praised," said the hero; ^^I die in peace." In 
a few moments he breathed his last. 

Montcalm also lay dying of his wound. When told 
he could not live, he said, ^'I am glad of it." When 
told he would die in ten or twelve hours he said: ^^So 
much the better. I shall not live to see the surrender 
of Quebec." 

Quebec surrendered, and the power of the French 
Surrender of in America was broken forever. By a treaty 
Quebec, 1759 ^^^]^ England they gave up Canada, and 
all their possessions east of the Mississippi. England 
came into control of the larger portion of North 
America. Henceforward, we were to be an English 
and not a French nation. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of Quebec? What did the EngUsh gov- 
ernment resolve to do? What can you say of James Wolfe? 
What reasons did Wolfe have for not wanting to leave Eng- 
land? What did he say about the call of his country? What 
can you say about the defences of Quebec? What did Wolfe 



LIFE IN THE COLONIES 109 

set about doing? How long did the siege last? What plan 
did Wolfe make? Describe the way the precipice was scaled. 
Describe the battle that ensued. Describe the death of Wolfe; 
of Montcalm. What was the result of the surrender of Quebec? 
What territory did England get possession of? What was the 
effect upon us as a nation? 



LESSON 35 
LIFE IN THE COLONIES 

A HUNDRED and fifty years had passed since the 
settlement of Jamestown. EngUsh colonies had been 
established along the Atlantic coast all the way from 
New Hampshire to Georgia. They had a population 
of about a million and a half. The French had sur- 
rendered Canada and the region east of the Mississippi 
to the English. The Spanish owned Florida and the 
regions beyond the Mississippi River. 

There were a few large cities, such as Boston, New 
York, Philadelphia, and Charleston, in which the 
wealthy merchants had fine houses and hved cities and 
in princely fashion. These houses, especially '^^*^'' 
those in the south, often had large columns in front 
supporting the roof of the front piazza, in a style known 
as colonial architecture. Wide halls and large rooms 
connected by great open doors gave opportunity for 
social festivities that made the hospitality of certain 
mansions famous for many miles around. 



110 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



The early settlers had no such pleasures as we have 
described. On landing there was often no better 
shelter than the caves in the hillsides. The first houses 




Old Southern Mansion 

were cabins made of logs notched at the ends, with 
the cracks filled with mud to keep out the cold. 
Instead of window glass the colonists used oiled 
The settlers' paper ; in place of wooden floors^ the ground 
cabi^ was packed hard and covered with sand; in 

place of lamps or candles, the great fireplace fur- 
nished light as well as heat. 

Around these cabins in winter often the snow 
drifted, and the wolves howled. In the villages and in 
the frontier cabins there was always danger of Indian 
massacres. The colonist worked with his gun by his 



LIFE IN THE COLONIES 111 

side and slept with it by his bed, not knowing when 
the war whoop of the savages would summon him to 
protect his wife and children from massacre, The settler 
and his cabin from destruction. He de- *^^^""fl« 
pended upon his rifle to supply game for food, to fur- 
nish skins for clothing, to protect his family from the 
savages, and to defend his home from a foreign 
enemy. The frontiersmen of America were the best 
marksmen in the world. At a distance of a hundred 
yards a mark of the size of a silver dollar was as large 
a target as they needed. 

The early pioneer had to battle with a heartless 
wilderness. Life with him was hard and stern. He 
had no time or inclination for amusement, sportofthe 
Therefore, he severely condemned such follies ^^o^o^^s^^ 
as dancing, playing cards, wearing fine clothes, and 
going to the theatre. They were sinful and wasteful 
pleasures. If he desired sport he found it in shooting 
at a mark, in hunting wolves and bears, in fights be- 
tween wild beasts and his dogs, in wrestling, and in all 
kinds of hardy games. 

QUESTIONS 

How many years had passed by this time? Where had 
EngUsh colonies been established? How many people were 
living in them? What territory had the French smTendered? 
What were the possessions of the Spanish? Name some of the 
largest cities of the time. Describe a colonial home. What can 



112 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



you say of the homes of the early settlers? Describe the pioneer 
cabin. In what danger did the frontiersman live? What de- 
pendence did he place on his gun? What can you say of the 
frontiersman as a marksman? Upon what amusements did the 
early pioneer frown? In what sports did he indulge? 




Colonial Children 



LESSON 36 

CUSTOMS IN THE COLONIES 

Sunday was strictly observed in all the colonies. 
All work on that day was forbidden, and everybody was 
compelled to go to church. The church was 
usually cold and uncomfortable in winter, the 
sermons were always long, and everybody became 
very tired. Nobody dared to sleep , for the tithingman 



Sunday 



CUSTOMS IN THE COLONIES 113 

was on guard to rap the men on their heads with a 
rabbit's foot on one end of his stick, or tickle the 
women's noses with a rabbit's tail on the other end of 
his stick if they nodded for a moment. 

The colonists believed in punishment. If a man 
stayed away from church, or wore fine clothes that he 
could not afford, or chewed tobacco near the 

. n ^ ' Punishment 

meetmg-house, or went hunting or hshmg on 
Sunday, or told a lie, or drank too much whiskey, he 
was brought before the magistrate and punished. If 
a woman was a common scold, she was ducked in the 
water. If a man was a drunkard, he was compelled 
to wear a big '^D," made of red cloth, sewed to his 
coat. 

The pillory and stocks were set up in the village 
green, or in some other public place. Offend- pmory and 
ers were made to stand in the pillory or to ^^^^^ 
sit in the stocks, so that passers-by could see them 
and make sport of them. 

Among the curious superstitions of New England 
was the belief in witches. We know that there are 
no such things as witches, but in those days people 
thought that Satan and the evil spirits entered into 
men and women and led them to do many BeUefin 
wicked things. If the cattle died, if there ^^*^^®« 
was a drought, if anybody fell down in a fit, or if 
anything unusual or dreadful happened, people said 



114 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



a witch did it, and began to accuse some one of witch- 
craft. It became worse in Salem, Massachusetts, than 
an3rwhere else. 




Charged with being a Witch 

Some children who claimed to have fits when cer- 
tain persons came near them, charged these persons 
Punishing with being witches. They even described 
tke witches ^Yiq witches^ sacrameut, and said that one of 
the witches had asked them to sign the devil's book. 



CUSTOMS IN THE COLONIES 115 

These foolish stories were beheved by the people. 
Then one person began to accuse another. The mad- 
ness spread and everybody seemed in danger of being 
called a witch. Many were thrown into prison; nine- 
teen were hanged, and one aged man, who refused to 
open his mouth in his own defence, was cruelly pressed 
to death between two stones. The people at last came 
to their senses, opened the prison doors, and reason 
resumed its sway. 

QUESTIONS 

How did the colonists observe the Sabbath? Describe the 
church services, and how the tithingman kept everybody 
awake. Mention some of the things for which the colonists 
received punishment. What was done with a scolding woman? 
With a drunkard? Describe the pillory and stocks. What 
can you say of the belief in witches. In what place did it 
become worse than anywhere else? What did some children 
claim? What happened to the accused? What did the people 
at last do? 




Wedding Slipper of a Puritan Maiden 



116 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

LESSON 37 
DISCOMFORTS IN COLONIAL DAYS 

In colonial times people suffered much discomfort. 
There were no stoves, and cooking was done in fire- 
places. There were no knives and forks except for the 
wealthy, and ordinary folks ate with their fingers; 
there were no china dishes and everybody, except those 
who could afford pewter, ate from wooden bowls or 
trenchers. Such things as kerosene oil, coal, and 
matches were quite unknown. Steamships, railroads, 
electric cars, telegraphs, and telephones, so familiar and 
necessary to us, had not been dreamed of. 

Traveling in those days was avoided as much as 
possible. If one had to make a journey he went on 
horseback, if possible, and generally along 
with other travelers for protection. After a 
while the stagecoach began to ply between the large 
towns, passing through the villages on its way. It 
was slow traveling. It took a stagecoach three days 
to go from New York to Philadelphia, a journey now 
made in less than two hours. 

The stagecoach was without springs and cushions, 
the horses usually were overworked, the roads were full 
A journey by of ruts, and oftcu SO muddy as to be almost 
stagecoach impassable. The coach generally started at 
three o'clock in the morning, no matter how cold the 



DISCOMFORTS IN COLONIAL DAYS 



117 



weather. The horses were changed at intervals. The 
traveler was jolted along for eighteen hours until he 



'^i:wmj~(:^^^ 




In Old Stagecoach Days 

was put down at an inn, where he was offered very 

bad food and a very hard bed. Before daybreak the 

next morning he was off again, 

and so on for a week, at the end 

of which time a traveler from 

Boston found himself in New 

York, more dead than alive. 

If a wealthy man was com- 
pelled to travel he went in his 
Hospitality owu coach, attended 

to travelers ^y ]^-g ^^^ Servauts, 

and was given entertainment 
by hospitable people who lived 
along the road. In Virginia, 
where the inns were so bad that one could hardly en- 
dure them, and the homes of the planters were large 




An Old Hand Printing 

Press 



118 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

enough to hold many guests, it was the custom to 
station a servant at the gate of a great country man- 
sion, and all travelers were invited to stop and spend 
the night. 

There was but little mail in those days. All the 
letters for the entire country delivered during a whole 
Mail and J^ar Were not equal to the letters of New 
postage York city now delivered in one day. The mail 
was carried by post- riders, who set out at irregular times 
on their journey by the bridle paths and trails through 
the forest when there was enough mail to pay for the 
expense of dehvery. Some places received mail but 
once a month. There were no postage stamps, but 
letters were paid for according to length. There were 
not forty newspapers printed in all the colonies at this 
time, and they were small sheets containing little news. 

QUESTIONS 

What discomforts did the colonists suffer? How was cook- 
ing done? With what did they eat? From what did they 
eat? What things were quite unknown? How about steam 
and electricity? What can you say of traveling? What can 
you say of the stagecoach? Describe a journey by stagecoach. 
How did the wealthy travel? What was the custom in Virginia? 
What can you say of the mail? How was the mail carried? 
How often, in some cases? How many newspapers were pub- 
lished at that time? 



SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES ^ 119 

LESSON 38 
SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES 

We have already seen that three hundred years ago, 
a Dutch ship brought a load of negroes to Jamestown 
and sold them to the planters in that colony. It was 
not long before slavery found its way into all the colo- 
nies, and negro slaves were found in Boston, New York, 
and Philadelphia, as well as in Charleston and Savannah. 

In those days it was not considered wrong to hold 
negroes in slavery. There were many who believed 
that the condition of the negro was improved The slave 
by bringing him from the darkness of Africa ^^^^^ 
and putting him into civilized and Christian com- 
munities. Therefore the slave trade flourished. 

Slave ships from New England carried cargoes of 
fish and other things to European ports, then sailed 
along the African coasts and bought negroes , 

^ 1 . 1 Slave ships 

who had been captured m the wars among 
the tribes, and returned to America with their unhappy 
prisoners. Many died on the voyage, and their bodies 
were thrown into the sea. 

When a slave ship arrived in port and it was an- 
nounced that a cargo of negroes was for sale, the slave 
dealers gathered by the ship's side or in the The slave 
slave market of the town. The owners sold ^^^^^^ 
the negroes by auction or at private sale to the dealer, 



120 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Old-time Slave Quautehs 



who, in turn, sold them to the farmers for field-hands, 
or to people of the town for house- servants. 

The negroes were generally quiet and good-natured. 
They went to their work cheerfully, soon learned the 
English language and adopted the dress and customs 
of their masters. Certainh^ they fared better in 
America than they did in Africa, except that they were 
slaves, and for that they did not seem to care. 



SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES 121 

In New England the negroes were mainly used for 
house- servants. The chmate, however, was too severe 
for them. They did not thrive in a region of snow and 
ice, to which they were not accustomed. In the 
southern colonies, where the climate was more slavery in 
like that of Africa, and where agriculture ^'^^^^^^^^ 
was the main occupation of the people, the negroes 
thrived well. 

The southern planters bought the negroes from the 
slave traders, gave them comfortable homes in the 
slave quarters, and put them to work in the tobacco 
fields and the rice swamps. In this way a great slave 
system grew up in the South under circum- slavery in 
stances which seemed fortunate and right at *^® ^°^*^ 
the time, and to which no one raised any objection. 
The negroes were generally well treated, were happy in 
their new homes, became devoted to their masters, and 
were satisfied with the condition that fate had awarded 
them. 

QUESTIONS 

What have we already seen about the introduction of sla- 
very? How did slavery spread? What was thought of sla- 
very? What did many believe? Describe the traffic of slaves 
by the slave ships. Describe the arrival of a slave ship and 
the selling of the slaves. What can you say of the negroes? 
What can you say of negroes in New England? What can you 
say of negroes in the South? How were they treated by their 
masters? 



HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION 



LESSON 39 
PATRICK HENRY 

The King of England seemed to care very little for 

the American colonies, except in the way of trade. 

The colonists were not allowed to trade with 

Trade laws 

any merchants except English merchants. 
They were not allowed to manufacture cloth or hats, 
or to make anything out of iron, but were required to 
send the wool, fur, and iron to England to be manu- 
factured there. They had to pay heavy duties on 
sugar, molasses, and other things which they needed. 
The French and Indian War had cost a great deal of 
money. The British government declared the war had 
been fought largely in defence of the colonies 
in America, and that they must pay their 
share of the expense. The colonists would not have 
objected had they been consulted as to the raising and 
the amount of the taxes, but they did object to being 
taxed without having a word to say about it. This 
was ^Haxation without representation,'^ and was little 
short of tyranny. 

122 



PATRICK HENRY 



123 



The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which 
required all bonds, deeds, licenses, and contracts to be 
The stamp Written on stamped paper. This paper was 
Act, 1765 stamped in England, brought to America, and 
the colonists were expected to buy it. It cost from one 
cent to fifty dollars a sheet, according to its use. The 
Stamp Act caused great indignation in America. The 
colonists refused to buy the stamped paper and declared 
King George to be a try ant. 

Among the great orators of that time was Patrick 
Henry, of Virginia. He had not been a student when 
a boy, and had failed as a store- 
keeper and as a farmer. He turned 
Patrick to the law for an occupation, 
^^^^^ and in this his wonderful 
oratory made him famous from the 
beginning. He was employed as 
counsel in the case of the clergy- 
men who were suing the Virginians 
for their salaries. The dispute arose 
about the value of the tobacco in 
which the salaries were paid, and Henry was employed 
to represent the people against the clergymen. It 
was known as the ^^ Parsons Case." 

On the day that Henry spoke, the courthouse was 
crowded. Henry's father was one of the judges. It 
was Henry's first speech, and he arose awkwardly 




Patrick Henry 



124 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

and began to speak in a hesitating voice. Everybody 
felt disappointed and Henry^s father hung his head 
for shame. Soon the orator's voice cleared, his form 
Oration in the straightened, his eye began to glow, and his 
Parsons Case gestures became full of grace. Words of 
great eloquence fell from his lips. The people held 
their breath with surprise and delight. The judges 
leaned forward, the people hung upon every word as 
the orator continued his argument. At one moment the 
people laughed, then they cried, and then they were 
thrilled with emotion. At the end of the speech the 
jury awarded the clergymen just one penny for damages. 
From that time Patrick Henry ranked among the great 
orators of his day. 

Henry became a member of the House of Burgesses 
of Virginia. News came that the Stamp Act had been 
passed and that the mother country proposed to make 
the colonists buy the stamps. Henry listened to the 
speeches of others, but he thought they were too timid 
to express what the occasion demanded. 

Reaching for an old law book, he tore out a blank 
page, wrote a resolution on it, had it read to the mem- 
speech on the bers, and then began to speak. It was one of 
stamp Act ^^le great speeches of the Revolution, and the 
members listened spellbound by his fearless eloquence. 
He concluded his speech by saying: ^Tsesar had his 
Brutus; Charles I his Cromwell, and George III . . .'' 



SAMUEL ADAMS 126 

At this point several members cried out ''Treason! 
Treason!" Henry was not afraid, but turning towards 
them said, ''George III may profit by their example!'' 
Henry expressed the feelings of all the colonists. 

Seeing the determination of the people, the British 
government repealed the Stamp Act, and quiet was 
restored for a while in America. 

QUESTIONS 

How did the King of England consider the people of the 
American colonies? What were the colonists not allowed to 
do? What did the British government declare the colonists 
had to do? Why did the colonists object? What was this 
action of the British government called? What were the re- 
quirements of the Stamp Act? How was the Stamp Act re- 
ceived in America? What can you say of Patrick Henry? In 
what case was he employed as counsel? What was the dispute 
about? Describe the way Henry deUvered his great speech. 
What award did the jury give the clergymen? Describe the 
way in which Henry made a great speech on the Stamp Act. 



LESSON 40 
SAMUEL ADAMS 
The king's troops were in Boston trying to overawe 
the people. They paraded the streets by day, and with 
their drunken shouts and brawling disturbed the quiet 
of the night. On Sunday they raced horses on the 
Common; and sang rude songs before the church door. 



126 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



They insulted the people and often came to blows with 
the citizens, who made sport of them, calling them 
^^ redcoats/' and other names. 

One night a body of citizens had a quarrel with some 
soldiers on the streets of Boston. From angry words 
they came to blows. Some The Boston 
one rang the church bell, MarchT' 
and a crowd rushed into ^"^"^^ 
the moonlit streets. They pressed 
upon the file of soldiers, who unex- 
pectedly fired their guns, kilUng 
several of the citizens, and wound- 
ing others. This is known as the 
Boston Massacre. It caused great 
excitement among the people. 
Samuel Adams, then fifty- eight years of age, who is 
known as ^'The Father of the Revolution,'' was a 
leading citizen of Boston at the time. He had already 
written a great deal about the tyranny of the king and 
the oppression of the British laws, and had urged the 
people everywhere firmly to resist all oppressive meas- 
ures. A great meeting of the citizens of Boston was 
held the day after the massacre. They resolved that 
the British soldiers must leave Boston. Adams took 
their message to the governor. 

Calling upon the governor, Adams made the demand. 
^^I will remove one regiment," replied the governor. 




Samuel Adams 



SAMUEL ADAMS 



127 



Whereupon Adams, pointing his finger at him, said: 
^^The voice of ten thousand freemen must be respected, 
and their demands obeyed. If you have power Adams and 
to remove one regiment, you have power to *^® governor 
remove the other. Sir, it is both regiments or none.^' 
The governor, in alarm for his own safety, ordered the 






^*:~^ 




■ tei* 



'^^^"--Ap'tLj* 



From an old print. 

Landing of British Troops in Boston 

troops to leave Boston immediately. Samuel Adams 
afterwards said, ^^I observed his knees to tremble, and 
his face to grow pale, and I enjoyed the sight. ^' 

The British Parliament laid a tax on tea, glass, paper, 
and a few other things. The colonists resisted all these 
taxes, and refused to buy any of the articles taxed, 
just as they had refused to buy the stamped paper. 
The ships carrying tea lay idle in the harbors. Nobody 
would drink tea so long as it was taxed. 



128 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Several tea ships lay in the harbor of Boston. The 
citizens would not allow the tea to be landed, and the 
ships could not depart. The custom-house officers 
were on the point of seizing the tea and storing it in 
the town. Seven thousand people gathered in and 
about the Old South Meeting House, and Adams pre- 
sided over the meeting. He had hoped for news that 
the ships would sail away, but no such news coming, 
he arose and said quietly, ^^This meeting can do 
nothing more to save the country." 

Hardly had he finished, when shouts were heard in 
the streets. A body of citizens dressed as Indians 
were on their way to the ships to ^^see how 
Tea Party? tea would mix with salt water. '^ Adams 
^6^i7iz probably knew about it beforehand and had 
helped to devise this plan of destroying the 
tea. The crowd followed the disguised citizens, the 
ships were boarded, the tea thrown into the water and 
the people quietly dispersed to their homes. This is 
known as ^^The Boston Tea Party." 

Samuel Adams became a member of the Conti- 
nental Congress at Philadelphia, and was received 
with great honor wherever he went. He lived to see 
the independence of the American colonies, the for- 
mation of the American Union, and was elected gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts a few years before his death, 
at the advanced age of eighty- one years. 



THE MINUTEMEN AT LEXINGTON 



129 



QUESTIONS 

What can you say of the conduct of the king's troops in 
Boston? Describe the Boston Massacre. What did it cause? 
Who was Samuel Adams? What had he already done? What 
resolution did a meeting of the citizens make? Describe the 
meeting between Adams and the governor. What tax did the 
British ParUament now lay? How did the people treat this new 
tax? Describe the meeting of the people. What remark did 
Adams make? Describe the destruction of the tea. W^hat is 
this incident called? What can you say of the later life of 
Samuel Adams? 



LESSON 41 
THE MINUTEMEN AT LEXINGTON 
The British troops were again in Boston, and 
General Gage was in military command. Gage had 




oiLe If ny LAan two if ny sba. 



Paul Revere 's Lantern 



orders to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams, 
and send them to England for trial. Upon hearing 



130 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



that they were in Lexington, visiting a friend, he re- 
solved to capture them there, as well as to destroy 
the arms and provisions which the patriots had col- 
lected at Concord, a few miles beyond Lexington. 

One night a force of eight hundred troops marched 
out of Boston on their way to Lexington. The pur- 
pose of Gage, how- 
ever, had been dis- 
covered. Across the 
Charles River Paul 
Revere waited, his 
horse by his Paui 
side, for the ^^^^'^'"^^' 
signal that the troops 
had started. The sig- 
nal was a lantern to 
be hung in the belfry of the North Church; one lan- 
tern if the troops went by land, two if they went by 
sea. The signal appeared, and Revere dashed off in the 
darkness ahead of the troops. As he flew along he 
cried out to the people: ^^The British are coming! The 
British are coming !'' Upon hearing this the farmers 
arose and armed themselves. They were already 
organized as minutemen, which means they were ready 
at a minute's notice to arm themselves and go into 
battle. 

Reaching Lexington, Revere came to the house 




Paul Revere 's Ride 




igfiiiiiiiiiiiiiim 

The British are 



where Hancock and 
Adams were sleep- 
ing. The house was 
guarded, and the sergeant 
told Revere not to make 
so much noise. ^^ Noise!'' 
cried Revere, 



^Hhere will be noise enough before 
long; the regulars are 
coming!" Hancock rec- 
ognized Revere's voice, 
and from an upper win- 
dow asked what was the 
matter. Upon being 
informed, he 
and Adams 
dressed quick- 
ly and 
escaped. 



\ 







131 



132 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

By sunrise the troops reached Lexington. Fifty 
mounted men were drawn up on the village green 
under command of Captain John Parker. Parker 
had said to his men: ^^ Stand your ground; don^t fire 
unless fired on ; but if they mean to have a war, let it 
begin here.'^ 

Major Pitcairn, the British officer, rode forward and 

shouted, ^'Disperse, ye villains!" But the patriots 

. , stood firm. Pit cairn gave orders to fire, but 

The minute- . ^ , . , ' , 

men at Lex- his troops hesitated. Pitcairn pointed his 
^"^ °" own pistol and fired. His troops then dis- 
charged their guns and killed eight of the minutemen 
and wounded ten others. The minutemen retreated 
and the British moved on. Adams and Hancock, who 
were walking across the field, heard the noise of the 
guns. Adams remarked, ^^Oh, what a glorious morn- 
ing is this!'' 

At Concord the British found that most of the 
military stores had been removed. They set fire to 

the courthouse, cut down the liberty pole, 
Lexington,** Spiked a fcw cauuou, and started back to 
^PJ"j^^®' Boston. The farmers had gathered from far 

and near and lined the road. In every tree 
and behind every rock there seemed to lurk a marks- 
man. It was one long ambush. The British began to 
run. By the time they reached Lexington, where 
reenforcements met them, they were completely 



THE MINUTEMEN AT LEXINGTON 13a 

exhausted and fell on the ground, ^Hheir tongues hang- 
ing out like dogs after a chase/ ^ They continued 
their flight, and by the time they had reached Boston 
three hundred had been killed. This was the battle of 
Lexington, the first battle of the Revolution. 




The Lexington Tablet 

News of the battle aroused the people of all the 
colonies. The patriots of New England assembled an 
army around Boston. Israel Putnam, of„ . 

' Excitement 

Connecticut, while plowins: in his field, heard following the 

. . battle 

of the battle, and leaving the plow in the 
furrow mounted the horse and rode a hundred miles in 
eighteen hours to join the army. The people of 
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, passed resolu- 
tions declaring that they no longer owed allegiance 



134 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

to England. In Savannah, the capital of far-off 
Georgia, a party of six men broke open the powder 
magazine and captured a quantity of powder, some of 
which was sent to the army around Boston. Every- 
where the people were of one mind. The war of the 
Revolution had begun in earnest. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was now in command at Boston? What orders did he 
have? What did he hear and what did he resolve to do? Tell 
the story of Paul Revere's ride. What happened when Revere 
reached Lexington? Describe the fight at Lexington. What 
happened at Concord? Describe the retreat from Concord. 
How was the news of the battle received? What can you say of 
Israel Putnam? What did the people of Mecklenburg County 
declare? What did a party in Savannah do? 



LESSON 42 
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON 

The American army needed a commander-in-chief, 
and all eyes turned to George Washington. He was 
George choseu without oppositiou. He was then 
Washington forty- three years old, but was known throu2;h- 

chosen com- ^ *^ ^ ^ V' 

mander-in- out the couutry as a great soldier and a noble 
man. He was tall, athletic, and hardened by 
his life as a surveyor and by his experience as a sol- 
dier. He was modest in his manner, declaring that 
he did not consider himself equal to the command of 



GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON 



135 



the army. He refused to take any pay for his serv- 
ices, but said that he would keep an account of his 
expenses, which the government might pay after the 
close of the war. 

Before Washington had arrived near Boston the 
battle of Bunker Hill had been fought. The British 
„ ,,, , attacked the Americans as they lay in the 

Battle of 1 % A . 

Bunker Hiu, treuches. Twice they charged the American 

^^ ' lines and twice they were driven back. On 

the third charge 

the Americans, 




having no ammunition, 
met them with clubbed 
muskets and heavy 
stones. The defence 
was a brave one, but 
the patriots were compelled to retreat. When Wash- 
ington heard of the way the militia had stood the 



Bunker Hill Monument 



136 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

fire of the British, he said, ''The liberty of the 
country is assured. '^ 

When Washington arrived before Boston he was 
received with great enthusiasm by the soldiers. Un- 
der an elm tree, in Cambridge, he reviewed the troops 
and took command of the army. He made a very 
martial appearance as he sat on his horse, with a broad 
band of blue silk across his breast, and a three-cornered 
hat with the cockade of liberty in it. 

The soldiers in Washington's army knew very little 
of military discipline and were poorly provided with 
Drilling the arms and ammunition. They were hardly 
troops more than a mob of enthusiastic and patriotic 

farmers, who were willing to fight, but knew nothing of 
the rules of warfare. For months Washington drilled 
the troops and enforced order. He was on the lines 
every day, visiting every part of the camp and seeing 
the progress of the work on the fortifications around 
Boston. The British inside the city were quietly wait- 
ing to see what the Americans would do. 

When all was ready, Washington placed his cannon 
on the heights so as to command Boston, and sent word 
to the British General Howe, who had succeeded Gen- 
eral Gage, that he must move out of Boston or be pre- 
pared to stand an attack. Howe was astonished when 
he saw the American cannon pointing at him from a 
hill overlooking Boston. 



GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON 137 

There was nothing left for him to do but to fight, 
surrender, or sail away from Boston. He decided to 
sail away, and accordingly put his army aboard 
his ships, and went to Halifax, leaving behind ?eave^Boston, 
more than two hundred cannon and a great ^^^^^g^ ^^' 
quantity of powder and muskets, all of which 
fell into the hands of the Americans. Washington 
marched into Boston with his army, and was received 
with open arms by the people of the town. Meetings 
were held in Faneuil Hall, ''The Cradle of Liberty,'' 
and patriotic resolutions were passed by the people. 

Thus Washington began that great career which has 
endeared him to the hearts of all Americans. He 
showed his genius by organizing an army out of rough, 
untrained militia and leading it to the overthrow of the 
trained soldiers of Europe. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was chosen commander-in-chief of the American army? 
What can you say of Washington at this time? How did he 
show his modesty? What did he do about pay for his services? 
Describe the battle of Bunker Hill. What did Washington say 
when he heard of it? Describe the way Washington took charge 
of the American army. What can you say of the condition of 
the troops? How did Washington prepare the troops for war- 
fare? Describe the manner in which Washington captured 
Boston. What can you say of Washington's military career? 



138 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

LESSON 43 

ATTACK ON CHARLESTON — DECLARATION OF 
INDEPENDENCE 

During the siege of Boston a British force had left 
that city to attack Charleston. When the people 
Defence of heard of the approach of the enemy they 
Charleston hastily built a fort of palmetto logs on Sulli- 
van^s Island and mounted cannon for its defence. 
Colonel Moultrie was in command. There were those 
who laughed at Moultrie's fort and declared that the 
British guns would knock it over in a half hour. ^^ We 
shall see/' said Moultrie. ^^If they do, we shall be be- 
hind its ruins and keep their men from landing." 

When the British fleet arrived and the attack on the 
fort began, it was found that the cannon-balls could do 
FortMoui- ^^^ little injury. The balls sank into the 
trie, June, earth or into the soft palmetto wood, leaving 
the fort unharmed. The soldiers of the fort 
took careful aim and did much damage to the British 
ships. The enemy finally gave up the attack and 
sailed away. A fort on Sullivan's Island has ever 
since been called Fort Moultrie. 

Sergeant During the bombardment, the flag- staff of 

Jasper ^^le fort was broken by a cannon-ball and the 
flag fell outside the fort. Sergeant Jasper leaped 
down and, in the face of the enemy's fire, recovered the 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 



139 



fallen flag and, tying it to the sponge-staff of a cannon, 
fastened it upon the walls of the fort. 



k^ 




gfj>- ... '' >^^^^^^^h^^^bhhj|h| 


5*j V* 







Independence Hall, Philadelphia 

Up to this time the colonists had been fighting for 
their rights as subjects of Great Britain, but now they 
determined to fight for independence. A Con- 
tinental Congress had been meeting in Phila- o/ind?pen- 
delphia. It was composed of delegates from I^^^^^q"^^^ 
all the colonies. Richard Henry Lee, of Vir- 
ginia, introduced a resolution that ^Hhese colonies are, 
and of right ought to be, free and independent states.^' 
A committee was appointed to draw up a Declaration of 



140 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Independence. Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, then 
thirty- three years of age, and one of the youngest of 
the delegates, was chosen to write the great document. 




Mansion of the Time of the Revolution 

The debate lasted several days. Finally the Declara- 
tion of Independence was agreed to, adopted by Con- 
gress on the Fourth of July, 1776, and signed by the 
delegates. 

When the Declaration was finally adopted, John 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 



141 



Hancock, the president, signed his name in a bold 
hand ''so that the king could read it without specta- 
cles/' Then all the others signed it. Franklin re- 
marked, ''We must all hang together or we shall all 
hang separately/' 




^^m^^^^ 



A.fJ'- 



John Hancock's House 

Post riders carried the news in haste to all parts 
of the country. The Declaration was read to the 
soldiers in the field. From pulpits and platforms 
it was read to the people. Everywhere there was 
rejoicing over the great event. Torchhght processions, 
bonfires, speeches, the firing of guns and the ringing of 
bells gave evidence of the joy of the colonists that the 
war in which they were engaged was henceforth to be 
a war for freedom. We can well understand why the 



142 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Declaration of Independence is the most important of 
all our state papers, and why the Fourth of July is the 
greatest of all our national holidays. 

QUESTIONS 

What was the next point of attack? What did the people 
of Charleston do? Who was in command of the fort? What 
did Moultrie say to those who laughed at his fort? Describe 
the repulse of the British fleet. Describe the brave act of 
Sergeant Jasper. For what did the colonists now resolve to 
fight? What resolution did Richard Henry Lee introduce? 
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? How was the 
news of this important event received by the people? 



LESSON 44 
TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF THE PATRIOTS 

The British decided to attack New York city, and 
get control of the Hudson River, so as to cut off New 
England from the rest of the colonies. Washington 
hastened from Boston with his army. His forces were 
not strong enough, however, and the British compelled 
him to leave New York city. Thereupon, Washington 
began a retreat across New Jersey. 

It was now the dead of winter and the weather was 

^^ry cold. The American troops were 

across New greatly discouraged, and hundreds- of them 

^^^^^ left the army, believing the cause to be lost. 

It was a gloomy hour for the patriots. Washington 




War Territory in the Eastern and Middle States 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF THE PATRIOTS 



143 



reached the Delaware River and crossed over at Tren- 
ton. The British were behind him, but when they 
arrived at Trenton they decided to wait a few days for 
the river to freeze over. They thought Washington 
was in full flight. 




Washington Receives the Surrender of 1000 British Troops 

It was the night of Christmas, and the British troops 
in Trenton were celebrating the occasion with drinking 
and feasting. Washington put his worn and almost 
exhausted men into boats, and in spite of the floating 
ice recrossed the Delaware, and marched nine miles 
in the darkness, and in the face of a bhnding snowstorm, 
until he reached the camp of the British. 

They were taken entirely by surprise. Their com- 



144 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

mander was drinking and playing cards with a friend 
when he heard the firing of guns and the shouts of his 
men. It was too late to prevent the capture 
Tr^enton, of his army. A thousand soldiers surrendered 
December, ^^ Washiugtou. The Americans had lost only 
four men, two of whom had frozen to death, 
and two were killed in the battle. 

A few days afterwards the British general, Cornwallis, 
arrived from New York to attack Washington at Tren- 
ton. He thought he had Washington in a 
•Princeton, trap, and went to sleep at night saying, ^'At 
J^^J^'^y ^' last we have run down the fox, and we will 
bag him in the morning." But Washington 
was more of a fox than Cornwallis thought. All night 
long a few men were engaged in building camp-fires 
and making a noise as if throwing up breastworks, 
while the rest of the army slipped away to Princeton. 
When Cornwallis arose he could hardly believe his 
eyes. There was nothing but an empty camp before 
him. Washington was in Princeton, where he gained 
another great victory over the British. The tables were 
now turned. There were rejoicing and hope every- 
where, instead of gloom and despair. 

A British army, under the command of General 
Burgoyne, marched down from Canada through New 
York state. An American army had opposed them all 
the way, burning bridges, cutting down trees across 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF THE PATRIOTS 145 

the roads, and doing everything possible to worry the 
British troops. At Saratoga the two armies met in 
battle and the British surrendered to the 
Americans. It was a great victory. When lurgT/ne, ''^ 
the King of France heard of it he said ^^1^°^^^ ^'''' 
that the Americans were worthy of free- 
dom, and forthwith acknowledged their independence. 

Among the foreigners who had come over to help 
the Americans was the Marquis de Lafayette. He was 
only nineteen years old, but was an ardent 
lover of liberty. At a dinner party in Ger- ^ ^^^ 
many he Ustened to an account of the struggles of the 
American colonists for freedom. He was so deeply 
moved that he arose from the table and declared that 
he would go to America and offer his services to 
Washington. He said, ''The welfare of America is 
closely bound up with the welfare of mankind." 

He had inherited a large fortune, and at his own 
expense fitted out a vessel that brought him to America. 
Congress made him a major-general. He became the 
devoted friend of Washington, and served valiantly 
through the war. Of all the foreigners who have 
served our country no one is so tenderly beloved as 
Lafayette. 

The British had moved against Philadelphia. They 
sailed down Chesapeake Bay, and though Washington 
met them in the battle of Brandywine, they succeeded 



146 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

in capturing the city. Washington retired with his 
army to Valley Forge, where the troops spent a winter 
Valley Forge, of dreadful Suffering. Many of the men had 
1777-1778 j^Q blankets and were compelled to sit by 
a scant fire all night to keep from freezing. Some died 
from want of clothes, and others perished from lack 
of food, yet the brave soldiers kept up their courage, 
and there were few desertions. 

QUESTIONS 

What city did the British get possession of? What did 
Washington do? Describe the retreat across New Jersey. 
What river did he reach and cross? What can you say of the 
British? Describe the way Washington won the battle of 
Trenton. How many of the enemy were captured? Describe 
the way Washington deceived Cornwalhs. What effect did 
these victories have on the country? What general surrendered 
at Saratoga? What did the King of France then do? What 
can you say of Lafayette? What city did the British next 
capture? Describe the sufferings at Valley Forge. 



LESSON 45 
MARION AND SUMTER 

After a winter spent in Philadelphia the British 
returned to New York. Washington followed them, 
and for the next three years spent his time watching 
them closely. The scene of war was changed to the 
southern colonies. 



MARION AND SUMTER 147 

The British began b}^ capturing Savannah and 
Charleston, and overrunning Georgia and South Caro- 
hna. It was hard to get many troops to oppose the 
British in these distant colonies. The patriots were 
brave, however, and offered all the resistance they 
could. 

Francis Marion, of South Carolina, raised a com- 
pany of his neighbors and called them ^^ Marion's 
Brigade. '^ They had no uniforms and no Marion's 
tents, and served without pay. They beat ^"?^^® 
out old saws to make swords, and melted pewter mugs 
and dishes to make bullets. They depended upon the 
fields and gardens of the people to supply corn for 
the horses and potatoes for the men. Sometimes the 
brigade numbered seventy or eighty men, then again it 
numbered only twenty. They made themselves famous, 
however. 

Marion's men annoyed the British by shooting at 
them from ambush. They captured their horses and 
supply wagons, they rescued prisoners and broke up 
the British camps. They never came to open battle, 
and if pursued they scattered, every man for himself, 
into the swamps and woods to come together again at 
some place agreed upon. At one time Marion heard 
that ninety British soldiers, with one hundred and 
fifty prisoners, were on their way to Charleston. With 
thirty men he swept down upon them in the darkness, 



148 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



captured the whole party, and rescued the prisoners. 
So difficult was Marion to follow that he became 

known as ^^The Swamp Fox/^ 

Marion was a man of small 
stature and of few words. On 
looking at him one won- Francis 
dered how he could be so ^^"°^ 
great a soldier. He never sullied 
his fame by an act of cruelty. 
^^ Never shall a house be burned 
by one of my people;" he said; 
'Ho distress poor women and chil- 
dren is what I detest." When he 
said that he had in mind many 
of the cruel things that the 
British soldiers had done in the 
South. 

Thomas Sumter was another soldier in this wild 
warfare. Unlike Marion, he was tall and powerful. 
He became known as '^ The Game Cock." The Thomas 
British had burned his house and turned his ^^^^^^ 
family out of doors. Sumter called his neighbors 
together and organized a band to fight the British 
wherever he could find them. Cornwallis said, ''But 
for Sumter and Marion, South Carolina would be at 
peace." Sumter's men rode their own horses, wore 
hunting shirts, carried long rifles with which they 




One of Marion's Men 



THE END OF THE WAR 149 

could hit a mark the size of a man^s hand at a dis- 
tance of two hundred yards. 

This kind of war is known as '^guerilla warfare/' 
because it was carried on by bands of soldiers, each 
fighting for itself and without regular organization into 
an army. The brave troops of Carolina and Georgia 
did great damage to the British, and kept them in 
check until they were driven out of the South. 

QUESTIONS 

To what place did the British return? What did Washing- 
ton do? How did the British begin the campaign in the South? 
What did Francis Marion do? Describe " Marion's Brigade." 
How did they annoy the British? Relate one of their adven- 
tures? What was Marion called? Describe Marion's appear- 
ance. What did he detest? Describe Thomas Sumter. What 
did Cornwallis say of Marion and Sumter? Describe Sumter's 
men. What is guerilla warfare? 



LESSON 46 
THE END OF THE WAR 

General Cornwallis was the British commander in 
the South. He had overrun Georgia and South Caro- 
lina, and was pushing his way northward, hoping to 
make an easy conquest of North CaroUna. He sent a 
force of twelve hundred men to make a raid into the 
western part of that state. The hardy backwoods- 



THE END OF THE WAR 



151 



was in a forlorn condition. The men suffered from 
want of food and clothing, but did not complain. 
There was only one blanket to every three sol- Nathanaei 
diers, and provision for only three days. Once ^^^^^^ 
Greene spoke to a barefoot sentinel saying, ''You 
must suffer from cold." ''Yes/' said the soldier, not 
recognizing the general, "but I do 
not complain, for our commander 
has no supplies for his men." 

Upon another occasion Greene 
alighted at an inn which had been 
turned into a hospital. Upon being 
asked how he was, he replied, 
"Hungry, tired, alone, and penni- 
less." The landlady brought him two 
bags of money she had saved, say- 
ing, "Take these, you and your men 
need them and I can do without." 

Cornwallis reached Yorktown, and Washington has- 
tened from New York to capture him. A French 
fleet blockaded the harbor and the British 
were trapped completely. After a brave re- cornwaius" 
sistance Cornwallis surrendered to Washing- ^f^^^^^^' 
ton. This practically ended the war. A 
treaty of peace was signed between Great Britain and 
the colonies, by which the thirteen colonies in America 
were acknowledged "free and independent." 




Nathanael Greene 



152 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

By the terms of the treaty our boundary Hues were 
Florida on the South, the Mississippi River on the 
West, and Canada on the North. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was the British commander in the South? What 
states had he overrun? Where was he marching and for what 
purpose? What raid did he propose and with what force? 
What soldiers gathered in front of the raiders? Describe the 
backwoodsmen. How many gathered and where did they face 
the British? Describe the battle of King's Mountain. What 
was the result? What became of Cornwallis? Who was in 
command of the American forces in the South? In what con- 
dition was his army? Narrate the story of the uncomplaining 
sentinel. Narrate the incident of the patriotic landlady. 
Where did Cornwallis surrender, and to whom? What treaty 
of peace Avas signed? What were its terms? 




A Cannon of Revolutionary Times 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 153 

LESSON 47 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

While the war was going on in America, Benjamin 
Franklin was in Europe defending the cause of the 
colonists. Franklin had risen from a poor ^^^^^.^^^ 
printer^s boy to be one of the wisest and i^deas^of^ 
most famous Americans. He persuaded the 
people of Philadelphia to put their books together to 
make a circulating library; he invented the open 
Frankhn stove; he suggested lightning rods to protect 
houses in case of storms; he organized fire companies; 
he printed an almanac known as ''Poor Richard's 
Almanac/' full of wise sayings; he had proved by 
means of a silk kite and a hempen string that the 
clouds, in a thunderstorm, were charged with elec- 
tricity; he had been honored with a doctor's degree, 
and he was known everywhere as the great and wise 
Dr. Franklin. 

Before the Revolution Franklin was appointed 
postmaster-general for all the colonies. This office 
he held for more than twenty years. He astonished 
the people by proposing that the mail should be 
carried once a week from Philadelphia to Boston. In 
those days of no railroads and but httle mail this 
was thought to be remarkable. 

Franklin was in England as the agent of the Penn- 



154 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Benjamin Franklin 



sylvania colony when the Stamp Act was passed, and 
^ ,,. did all he could to prevent it becoming a 

Franklin on . | i /• i 

the Stamp law. He was invited to appear beiore the 

House of Commons to discuss the subject. 

He was asked many questions, to which he gave ready 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 155 

and able answers. He told the statesmen of England 
many things about the colonies that they did not 
know before. His answers made a great stir. He 
was asked if the colonies would submit to any kind of 
a Stamp Act. He rephed boldly, ''No, they will 
never submit to it ! '^ 

When asked what the people would do about mak- 
ing contracts and collecting debts, he said: ''I can 
only judge of them by myself. I have a great many 
debts due me in America, and I would rather they 
should remain unpaid than submit to the Stamp 
Act." He also said: ''I have some property in 
America. I will freely spend nineteen shillings in the 
pound to defend my right of giving or refusing the 
other shilling." It was largely by his influence that 
the Stamp Act was repealed. 

After the war began in earnest, Franklin was sent to 
France to gain the friendship of that nation for the 
colonies. The French people hailed him as the friend 
of mankind, and crowds followed him through the 
streets, while the shop windows displayed his picture 
for sale. He was admired for his simple manners, for 
his ready wit, and for his plain dress. He wore no 
wig, had a great cap of fur, used large spectacles, 
and carried a walking stick. 

Franklin soon won the heart of the French people. 
Money was raised in France to aid the Americans, and 



156 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

French officers offered their services. French ships were 
fitted out to fight our battles, and French soldiers en- 
Frankiinin Hstcd in the American army. Franklin in- 
France duccd the king to take sides openly with the 
American colonies, and to acknowledge their freedom 
and independence. When the war was over Frank- 
lin was one of those who, in behalf of the colonies, 
signed the treaty of peace with England. 

On leaving France he was given the portrait of the 
king, framed in a double circle of four hundred and 
eight diamonds. The king ga.ve him the use of the 
queen's litter to bear him to the coast. When he 
reached America he was received with great enthu- 
siasm by the people. 

He remained in public life until near the end of his long 
and useful career. He died at a good old age, beloved 
and honored as one of the greatest of our public men, 

QUESTIONS 

What was Franklin doing at this time? What can you say 
of his rise into fame? What things had he done to make him 
famous? What degree had he been honored with? What did 
he propose when he was postmastor-general? What can you 
say of his answers before the House of Commons? What did 
he say about the Stamp Act? What did he say about collect- 
ing his own debts? What did he say about his property? 
What can you say of his reception in France? For what was 
he admired? What did he accomplish in France? How was he 
treated on leaving France? What can you say of his later life? 



DANIEL BOONE 



157 




LESSON 48 
DANIEL BOONE MOVES INTO KENTUCKY 

Daniel Boone was a hunter who Hved in a cabin 

in North Carohna. One day a friend told him of the 

fine hunting grounds in the 

Boone's • i t^ 

hunting trip regiou uow Kuowu as Iveu- 
tucky^'""" tucky. Boone with five 
companions started on a 
hunting trip across the mountains. 
The party went on foot, each man 
carrying his pack. For five weeks 
they toiled through the forests 
until they came to the blue grass 
region of Kentucky. There they Daniel Boone 
found buffaloes, deer, elk, wolves, bears, and panthers. 
It was a hunter's paradise. The other members of the 
party returned to North Carolina, but Boone re- 
mained for three weeks alone in the great woods with 
his trusty rifle. 

After Boone went home he decided to move his 
family into Kentucky. Others joined him, making a 
Boonesbor- party of thirty. They started out, cutting a 
ough, 1771 ^j.^ji through the forest and blazing the trees 
as they went along. In a few months they selected a 
place on the Kentucky River and began a fort, which 
afterwards was named Boonesborough. More settlers 



158 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



followed along the trail, the fort was strengthened, 
and more cabins were built. 

The Indians were very unfriendly. The savages 
who had been lurking about captured two girls who 




Early Pioneer Settlement in Kentucky 

were rowing on the river, and started off with them. 
One of them was Boone's daughter. The girls tore 
shreds from their dresses, and unobserved by the 
savages dropped them on the way to guide any who 
might follow. The settlers soon missed the girls 
and following their trail rescued them from the 
savages. 



DANIEL BOONE 



159 



Upon another occasion Boone was captured by the 
Indians and carried across the Ohio. One of the 
chiefs wanted to adopt him as his son, and captured by 
Boone was obHged to submit. All his hair ^^® i^^ians 
was plucked out except a scalp lock, he was painted 
and dressed like an Indian, and lived for several months 




To Guide any Who Might 
Follow " 



among the savages. They watched him closely, how- 
ever. The old chief counted the bullets and measured 
the powder he gave to Boone, and required him to 



160 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

bring in game for every bullet he used. Boone was 
more cunning than the Indians, for he cut the bullets 
in half, and stinted himself in the use of powder, thus 
saving a store for future use. 

At last he heard the Indians plotting to destroy 
Boonesborough. Pretending to go on a hunt, he 
Saves started on his way to Kentucky. A band of 

Boones- warriors pursued him, but he easily threw 
oroug them off the trail and came to the Ohio. Here 
he found a canoe and rowed across the river. He killed 
a turkey and ate it, the first thing he had eaten for 
many hours. In five days, traveling one hundred 
and sixty miles, he came to Boonesborough and 
gave the alarm in time to save the settlement from 
destruction. 

Other pioneers came into Kentucky, following the 
trail that Boone had made over the mountains. More 
cabins arose in the clearings, and more forts were 
built to protect the settlers from the watchful and 
dangerous Indians. Kentucky grew and prospered. 
The forests furnished game in abundance; the blue 
grass gave splendid pasturage for cows and horses ; the 
streams supplied fish; while the gardens and fields 
yielded plenty of corn, fruit, and vegetables. 

As for Boone himself, he ever loved the frontier. 
When the settlements in Kentucky grew too thick he 
moved deeper into the forest. The roar of the wild 



GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 161 

beast was sweeter music to his ears than the human 
voice. He spent his age hunting in the wilds of the 
Missouri woods. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was Daniel Boone? What hunting trip did he make 
with five companions? Describe their adventures. What did 
Boone do alone? Describe the way Boonesborough was 
founded? Of what state was it the beginning? Describe the 
adventure of the two girls. Describe the capture of Boone and 
his life among the Indians. Describe the way he escaped. 
Tell how Boonesborough was saved from the Indians. De- 
scribe the coming of the pioneers and how they fared in Ken- 
tucky. What can you say of the last days of Boone? 



LESSON 49 
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 

The British occupied forts at Kaskaskia, Vincennes 
(Vm-senO, and Detroit, in what was known asthe North- 
west Territory. They were so far from the seat of 
war during the Revolution that they were almost for- 
gotten. George Rogers Clark, of Kentucky, deter- 
mined to capture these forts from the British. He 
went to Virginia and laid his plans before the gov- 
ernor, Patrick Henry, and asked for a body of troops 
^ Ho defend Kentucky.'^ 

Early one summer he started down the Ohio with 
nearly two hundred men. After rowing a thousand 



162 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



miles the party landed. They hid their boats in the 
bushes and started overland to Kaskaskia in order to 
escape the spies that they knew guarded the Mis- 
sissippi River. It was a march 
of more than a hundred miles 
through low, marshy land. The 
men waded the creeks, swam the 
rivers, cut their way through the 
swamps and prairie grass until 
they came to the fort. 

When they arrived at Kaskaskia 
it was night, and the people were 
having; a dance. The ^ , „ 

^ Capture of 

commander of the fort Kaskaskia, 

1 ^ U A July, 1778. 

was asleep and nobody 
suspected an enemy near. Clark posted his men 
around the hall and quietly entered. He stood lean- 
ing against the doorpost until some one saw him and 
gave the alarm. ^^Go on with your fun,'' said Clark, 
^^but remember that you are now dancing under the 
flag of Virginia." The fort surrendered at once. 

Clark now determined to march against Vincennes. 
It was winter and the prairie lands were flooded with 
water and covered with ice. The streams were 
swollen, and there were no bridges. The distance was 
one hundred and sixty miles, and rain fell during 
most of the time that Clark and his men were on their 



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George Rogers Clark 



GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 



163 




Pioneers of the West and Northwest. 

way. Often the men for hours at a time waded in 
water up to their waists, and on reaching dry ground 
could find nothing with which to make a fire. More 
than once they spent the night in wet or frozen 
clothes. It was one of the most heroic marches on 
record. 

When Clark reached Vincennes he demanded the 
surrender of the fort. Hamilton, the governor and 
commander, was amazed that Clark could reach Vin- 
cennes in such weather. He was playing cards and 
drinking when he heard of the arrival of the Vir- 



164 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

ginians, and swore that he would not surrender the 
fort. An attack was begun by Clark's men. They 
were the best marksmen in the world, and 
vincenne° , could easily shoot through the loopholes of the 
February, ^^^^ rpj^^ £^^^ soou agreed to Surrender, and 

Clark and Hamilton met to make the terms. 

Hamilton was a cruel man and had offered to buy 
from the Indians the scalps of all their white captives. 
He was called the ^^ Hair Buyer.'' While the conference 
was going on, a party of Indians approached the fort 
with a lot of scalps. When Clark's men saw their bloody 
trophies, they seized the Indians, tomahawked them 
before the fort, and threw their bodies into the river. 

Hamilton surrendered Vincennes, and all the North- 
west Territory fell into the hands of the Americans. 
When the Revolution was over and a treaty of peace 
was made, all the region around the great lakes, out 
of which the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, 
and Wisconsin have since been made, was considered 
a part of the United States. If it had not been for 
George Rogers Clark, all that territory might now have 
been a part of Canada. 

QUESTIONS 

What forts did the British occupy in the Northwest Terri- 
tory? What did George Rogers Clark determine to do? What 
did he ask of Governor Henry? What did he say to the Gov- 
ernor? Describe their voyage and march to Kaskaskia. De- 



ROBERTSON AND SEVIER 165 

scribe the way Kaskaskia was captured. Describe Clark's 
inarch to Vincennes. What can you say of the surprise of the 
commandant? What was the fate of the Indians who were 
bringing in scalps? What was the effect of Clark's capture of 
the Northwest Territory? 



LESSON 50 
ROBERTSON AND SEVIER 

James Robertson was a friend of Daniel Boone 
and, like him, loved the deep forest and the wild fron- 
tier. He made a hunting trip through Ken- james 
tucky, and his stories of the beauty of the ^°^«^t«°^ 
country so excited his neighbors that sixteen famihes 
agreed to move with him into eastern Tennessee. 

The party traveled on foot, driving the cows ahead 
of them, and with their household goods strapped on 
the back of pack horses. On reaching the^^^^^^^^^^^ 
Watauga River they decided to make a settlement, 

1771 

settlement. For six thousand dollars' worth 
of blankets, paints, and muskets, Robertson pur- 
chased from the Indians the use of the lands along 
the river for a term of years. 

After eight years Robertson decided to move fur- 
ther westward. He and eight companions found their 
way through the wilderness until they came Nashviiie, 
to the great bend of the Cumberland where ^'^'^^ 
Nashville now is. Here they decided to found a set- 
tlement. The settlers soon followed, coming in boats 



166 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Nashboro, 
as it was then called, soon became a thriving colony. 

John Sevier, a companion and friend of Robertson, 

was the greatest Indian fighter in the Southwest. It 

„ . is said he fousiht thirty- five battles. He was a 

John Sevier ^ n i i 

and Kate very haudsome man, tall, blue- eyed, of slen- 
der build and erect figure. When he and 
Robertson were at the Watauga settlement the Indians 
made an attack on the fort. The siege lasted three 
weeks, and the men and women became weary of the 
confinement. Upon one occasion one of the women, 
Kate Sherrill, ventured out of the fort and was pur- 
sued by the Indians. She ran like a deer for the 
gates. The Indians were close behind her. Sevier, 
through a loophole, shot the foremost savage, just as 
Kate reached the stockade. She sprang up so as to 
catch the top with her hands and was drawn over by 
Sevier. He afterwards married her. 

Sevier lived in a big one- story house on Nolichucky 

River, and was known as ^^ Nolichucky Jack.^' He 

kept open house for everybody, and was the 

Services at ^ ^ i t i • i 

King's leader m establishing good government, as 
Mountain ^^^^ ^^ ^^ fighting the Indians. During the 

Revolution news was brought that the British were 
ravaging the country of North Carolina. Sevier col- 
lected a thousand of the settlers along the Watauga, 
mounted them on swift, wiry ponies and set out across 



ROBERTSON AND SEVIER 167 

the mountains. Every man carried a rifle, a toma- 
hawk, and a scalping knife. The officers had no 
swords, and there was not a bayonet nor a tent in 
the party. When they reached North CaroHna they 
joined the backwoodsmen and defeated the British at 
King's Mountain, as we have already seen in another 
lesson. After the battle Sevier and his men returned 
to Tennessee. 

Sevier was hospitable and generous. Even the 
Indians liked him because he treated them kindly 
whenever they visited him. He fought them when- 
ever they gave him cause, but never abused them or 
violated their confidence. Everywhere in Tennessee 
he was the idol of the people. When word came that 
^'Nolichucky Jack'' was in town crowds went out to 
meet him, to shake his hand, and talk with him. 

The pioneers kept swarming over the mountains. 
By the close of the Revolution twenty- five thousand 
people had moved into Tennessee and Kentucky. 
When Tennessee became a state, John Sevier was 
chosen its first governor, which office he held for 
twelve years. His name is still a household word 
among the people of East Tennessee. 

Thus we see that the colonies had not only won their 
independence from the mother country, but had begun 
to spread out over the great continent they had acquired 
by conquest and treaty. 



168 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

QUESTIONS 

Who was James Robertson? Who went with him into East 
Tennessee? How did the party travel? Where did they 
settle? What lands did Robertson purchase, and for how 
much? To what place did Robertson go after eight years? 
How did the settlers follow him? What name was given the 
settlement? Who was John Sevier? What can you say of 
him? Narrate the story of Kate Sherrill. What name was 
given to Sevier? How did he live? What part did he take in 
the Revolution? How was he considered by the Indians and 
why? What did the people think of him? How did Tennessee 
and Kentucky grow in population? What office did Sevier 
hold? 



THE UNITED STATES 



LESSON 51 
ORGANIZING THE GOVERNMENT 

The thirteen colonies in America were now free and 
independent states. It soon became plain that each 
state could not have a separate government. The 
states might be independent of England, but they 
could not remain independent of one another. A gen- 
eral government for all was needed. 

For the purpose of forming a government, delegates 
from the different states met in Philadelphia, and after 
much discussion and many compromises, the constitution 
convention agreed upon a Constitution. This adopted, 
Constitution was then sent to each state sepa- 
rately. No state was compelled to adopt the Con- 
stitution or was obliged to enter the Union. When 
nine states had adopted the Constitution the new 
government began. After a while all the thirteen 
states adopted it. The new nation was known as the 
United States of America. 

To be the head of the government the Constitution 
provided for a President, whose duty it is to see that all 

169 



170 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




George Washington 



ORGANIZING THE GOVERNMEXT 



171 



the laws are enforced, and to act as the commander- 
in-chief of the army and navy. To make the laws 
for the government of the people, it provided pj-o^gjo^g ^^ 
for a Congress, composed of representatives the consti- 
and senators from each state. It also es- 
tablished courts for the purpose of explaining the laws, 
and for punishing those who violate them. 




Fro77i an old cut 

Bird's-eye View of Mount Vernon, the Home of Washington 



The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. 
All public officials are sworn to support it, all laws are 
made in accordance with it, and to-day we are liv- 
ing under the great and powerful government created 
by it. 

George Washington was chosen the first President 



172 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



of the United States. On his way to New York to be 
inaugurated, at every town and village crowds of people 
went out to meet him. When he reached q^^^^ 
Trenton he was met by a party of young Washington 
girls dressed in white, who scattered flowers in President, 
front of him while he rode under triumphal ^^^^ 

arches. When he reached 
New York he was inaugu- 
rated amid the shouts of 
the people, the waving of 
flags, and the booming of 
cannon. 

Washington was Presi- 
dent for two terms, or eight 
years. At the end of his 
second term he retired to 
Mount Vernon, where he 
died, and was buried amid 
the tears and mourning of 
a grateful people. 

When Washington was 
inaugurated New York was 
the capital of the country. The next year 
Philadelphia became the capital, 
years the seat of government was moved to [f^Q^^ "^y- 
the banks of the Potomac, where a capital 
city had been laid out and named Washington in 




The Washington Monument 



A tj. J- Washington 
xVlier ten becomes the 



ELI WHITNEY INVENTS THE COTTON GIN 173 

honor of the great soldier and statesman. At that 
time Washington city was hardly more than a wilder- 
ness. The capitol building was unfinished, the Presi- 
dent's house was in an open field, there was but one 
good hotel, and there was no business and but little 
society. To-day it is one of the most beautiful and 
briUiant cities in the world. 

QUESTIONS 

What was the condition of the thirteen colonies? What soon 
became plain? What was needed? What convention was held and 
for what purpose ? What was agreed upon by the convention? 
What was done with the Constitution? When did the new 
government begin? What was the new nation called? What 
can you say of the President? Of what is he commander- 
in-chief? What can you say of Congress? What was the pur- 
pose of the courts? What can you say of the Constitution? 
Who was chosen the first President? How was Washington 
treated on his way to New York? What happened at Trenton? 
Where was he inaugurated? What can you say of his later life? 
What cities have been capitals? What can you say of Wash- 
ington city? 

LESSON 52 
ELI WHITNEY INVENTS THE COTTON GIN 

Very little cotton was raised in the South at this 
time. The seed had to be separated from the lint by 
hand, a very difficult process. One person could not 
clean more than a pound of cotton in a day, and a 



174 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



whole family could not clean more than eight or ten 
pounds. 

Just after the Revolutionary War a ship carried 
eight small bags of cotton to England. They were 

seized on the 
ground that such 
a quantity of 
cotton could not 
be raised in the 
United States. 
While Washing- 
ton was Presi- 
dent, three hun- 
dred and ninety- 
nine bales were 
exported in one 
year from the 
United States, 
which was con- 
sidered a wonderful crop. A cotton field of thirty 
acres near Savannah was considered a curiosity. 

Eli Whitney was a young man who had come from 
New England to Georgia to teach school and prac- 
tice law. He was living at the home of 
and Mrs. Mrs. Nathauacl Greene, fourteen miles from 
Savannah. He had always been fond of in- 
venting things, and had made a number of useful arti- 




Whitney's Cotton Gin 



ELI WHITNEY INVENTS THE COTTON GIN 175 

cles for Mrs. Greene. One day Mrs. Greene had a 
number of guests for dinner, and they were discussing 
the raising of cotton. One of them remarked, ''What 
a pity that some one does not invent a machine for 
separating the seed from the cotton! '' 

Mrs. Greene at once thought of the young man who 
had aided her several times, and said: ''Why not ask 
Mr. Whitney to make a machine of this sort? He can 
do anything." 

Whitney was sent for, some seed cotton was given 
him, and the difficulties explained. He had to make 
his own tools, and even his own wire. After _. ,, 

' ^ ^ The cotton 

several months' labor he succeeded in making gin invented, 
a machine that did as much work as many 
hands. He had invented the cotton engine, or the 
cotton gin as we now know it. 

As soon as the farmers learned about the cotton gin 
and the work it could do, they began to plant cotton in 
quantity. By using the Whitney gin, they could clean 
all the cotton they could raise. In a few years a hun- 
dred thousand bales were shipped to England. Cotton 
land rose in price, slaves were brought to the fields, 
and the great industry of the South was started. 

The first effect of the invention of the cotton gin 
was to increase the quantity of the cotton raised in 
the South. Since that time the farmers have planted 
more and more cotton, until to-day ten million or more 



176 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



bales are raised every year. The second effect was 
to fasten slaveholding on the South. The negroes 
^r. ^ . ^^ were well suited for work in the cotton fields. 

Effect of the 

cotton gin on Their labor was cheap and easily controlled. 
The demand for cotton by the northern and 
foreign mills increased every year. So the southern 
farmers bought more slaves and planted more cotton. 
At the present day the South not only raises cotton, 
but has many fine cotton mills. 




" " i I P m n* *-M :'^ ti.>r4r 





A Cotton Mill in the South 



QUESTIONS 

What can you say of the difficulty of cleaning cotton at this 
time? How much cotton could one person clean in a day? 
What cotton was seized in England and why? How much was 
exported in one year when Washington was President? What 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 177 

can you say of a cotton field near Savannah? Who was Eli 
Whitney? How was the question of a cotton gin brought to 
his attention? What were his difficulties? What was his suc- 
cess? What did the farmers then do? What was the first 
effect of the cotton gin? What was the second effect? 



LESSON 53 
THOMAS JEFFERSON 

When Patrick Henry was delivering his great 
speech against the Stamp Act, a young man stood 
leaning against the door listening to the burn- jefferson as 
ing words of the orator. The young man was * student 
Thomas Jefferson. He had come from his home in 
Virginia when he was seventeen years of age, to 
become a student at William and Mary College. He 
had always loved books and while at college often 
studied fifteen hours a day. He was a friend of 
Patrick Henry and shared a room with him. His 
heart w^as fired by the eloquence of his friend, and 
he resolved to take part in the great questions of 
the day. 

Jefferson was a tall, athletic young man, a dead shot 
with a rifle, and a daring and skilful horseman. He 
played the violin well, was fond of com- His accom- 
pany, and liked to gather a few friends in the P^shments 
tavern of the town to spend an evening in talking 



178 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Thomas Jefferson 



and music. He was not an orator, though he was a 
successful lawyer before a jury. He became famous 
as one of the most profound thinkers and writers on 
political subjects that our country has known. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 179 

When the Revolution came on Jefferson was a del- 
egate from Virginia to the Continental Congress. 
Richard Henry Lee, also of Virginia, who is known 
as ^' Light Horse Harry" and who was the father of 
Robert E. Lee, introduced a resolution declaring that 
the colonies ^' ought to be free and independent.'' 
Jefferson was appointed on the committee to draw up 
a declaration to that effect. When the committee 
met, the members asked Jefferson, who was only 
thirty-three years old, to prepare it. 

He then wrote the Declaration of Independence. 
Benjamin Franklin and John Adams changed a few 
words, and the report of the committee went 

. "Writes the 

to the Congress. During the debate on its Declaration 
adoption, Jefferson, who could write but pende^c'e 
could not make a speech, listened impatiently 
but silently to the criticisms of his work. Frank- 
lin sat near him and consoled him with amusing 
stories. 

Jefferson afterwards became governor of Virginia, 
and was minister to France at the time the Consti- 
tution was adopted. When Washington was Presi- 
dent he was selected Secretary of State. After a few 
years' service he retired to live in his beautiful home, 
Monticello, in Virginia. When John Adams was 
elected President to succeed Washington, Jefferson 
was elected Vice-President. 



180 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Jefferson was the founder and leader of the pohtical 

party that in those days was known as the Anti- 

Federahst Party, which later on became the 

Becomes "^ ^ 

President, Republican Party, and which to-day is known 
as the Democratic Party. After the term of 
office of John Adams expired, Jefferson was elected 
President of the United States. 

QUESTIONS 

What young man listened to Patrick Henry's great speech? 
What can you say of Jefferson as a student? What can you 
say of his appearance and accomplishments? For what did he 
become famous? Of what Congress was he a member? What 
did Richard Henry Lee propose? By whom was Jefferson asked 
to write the Declaration of Independence? How old was he at 
the time? Who made a few changes in it? How was Jefferson 
consoled during the debate? What offices did Jefferson after- 
wards hold? Of what party was he the founder and leader? 
Whom did he succeed as President of the United States? 



LESSON 54 
STEPHEN DECATUR PUNISHES THE PIRATES 

Tripoli is a small country on the northern coast of 
Africa, and is one of the Barbary States. When Jeffer- 
The pirates son was President the rulers of these states 
of Tripoli ^^QYQ, piratcs. Their vessels attacked and 
plundered the merchant ships of all nations, as they 



STEPHEN DECATUR PUNISHES THE PIRATES 181 

tried to pass through the Mediterranean Sea. Instead 
of punishing the pirates and destroying their vessels, 
several nations had been paying them tribute money 
to let their vessels alone. 

The United States also had been paying tribute to 
the pirates, but this did not save the American ves- 
sels and seamen from attack and robbery. ^^^^^^^^ 
American sailors were made slaves and were American 

•1 vessels 

compelled to work on the farms or m the 
groves of rich Tripolitan landowners. American officers 
were shut up in loathsome prisons, given poor food, 
and subjected to many insults. American vessels were 
robbed of their cargoes and many of them destroyed 
by the pirates. It was by no means an unusual oc- 
currence for a preacher in an American church to 
announce to his congregation that some member or 
neighbor had been captured by the pirates in the 
Mediterranean, and to ask for money to be paid for 
his ransom. 

The government decided to put a stop to this. The 
pirates were getting more insolent than ever, were de- 
manding more tribute money, and were more ^^^ against 
regardless of their promises. War was de- Tripou,i8oi- 
clared against Tripoli. Our navy consisted 
of only six small vessels. Four of them were sent 
to fight the pirates on the Mediterranean. Our little 
fleet gave a good account of itself. Several pirate 



182 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

ships were captured, and others were driven away 
from their attack on merchant vessels. 

One accident befell the American fleet. The frigate 
Philadelphia, while giving chase to a pirate ship, 
struck on a rock in the harbor of Tripoli, and was com- 
pelled to surrender. The pirates swarmed aboard, 
plundered the ship of everything valuable, and took 
the seamen and officers ashore as prisoners. It was a 
sad and discouraging mishap to the Americans. 

For months the Philadelphia lay helpless on the 
rocks in the harbor of Tripoli. It was manned by 
_. . .a pirate crew and guarded by pirate ships. 

lilBUt 611 3>I1 b 

Stephen At last Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, in com- 
mand of a little vessel that had been cap- 
tured from the pirates, was ordered to destroy the 
Philadelphia. It was a cold night in winter, and a 
heavy wind was blowing. With no lights to guide him, 
Decatur sailed close to the Philadelphia before he was 
discovered. The pirates on board, not knowing what 
vessel it was, called out to him to keep off. 

Decatur kept on until his vessel touched the Phil- 
adelphia. He then cried out, ^^ Board her!'' His men 
_ . „ sprang aboard, drew their swords, and soon 
the "Phiia- ovcrpowered the pirate crew. Many oi the 
^^ ^* pirates were cut down, and others driven 
overboard into the sea. Knowing that he could not 
move the ship, Decatur ordered it to be set on fire. 



STEPHEN DECATUR PUNISHES THE PIRATES 183 

Flames arose quickly from the sides, while Decatur 
escaped without the loss of a single man. 

After this the harbor was bombarded by the 
American fleet until the ruler of Tripoli was forced to 
make terms of peace. After that no more punisMng 
tribute money was paid to the pirates, and no ^^® p'""^*®^ 
more American merchant vessels were disturbed as 
they sailed on the Mediterranean Sea. Our little navy 
had won the respect of the world by punishing the 
pirates and bringing them to terms. 

When Decatur returned to America he was received 
everywhere with great respect. He was hailed as the 
hero who had carried the American flag to Honors to 
victory in our first war in foreign waters. ^^^^^"^^ 
Congress voted him a sword for his bravery, receptions 
were held, speeches of congratulation were made, and 
everywhere the people were proud of the deeds of the 
navy which, though small in size, was yet so great in 
valor. 

QUESTIONS 

Where is Tripoli? What can you say of the piracy of the 
Barbary rulers? What had several nations done? How did 
the pirates treat the American sailors? What became of the 
officers and cargoes? What was a usual occurrence? What 
did Jefferson decide to do? How large was our navy at the 
time? How many vessels were sent to the Mediterranean? 
What happened to the Philadelphia? What did the pirates do? 
Describe the way in which Stephen Decatur destroyed the 



184 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Philadelphia. What did the ruler of Tripoli now do? What 
about the tribute money? What had our little navy done? 
What honors were paid to Decatur? 



LESSON 55 
PURCHASING AND EXPLORING LOUISIANA 

When Jefferson was elected President^ the Mississippi 
River was the western boundary of our country. 
Beyond was the great territory known as Louisiana, 
which was again in possession of the French. New 
Orleans, also a French possession, was the seaport for 
the products of the Mississippi valley. The farmers 
along the Ohio and Mississippi loaded their produce 
on rafts or in boats and floated it down to New Or- 
leans, to be carried in ships to foreign markets. 

It was important for the United States to own New 
Orleans. The farmers of the West needed an outlet 
The Louisi- ^^^ their trade which no foreign country could 
ana Pur- close at its pleasure. Therefore Jefferson sent 
commissioners to France to buy New Orleans. 
France was at war with England and was badly in 
need of money, consequently that country proposed 
to sell not only New Orleans but all the Louisiana 
territory for fifteen million dollars. The trade was 
promptly made and Louisiana came into our possession. 

It was a great bargain for America. We secured 
the city of New Orleans and gained control of the Mis- 



PURCHASING AXD EXPLORING LOUISIANA 



185 



sissippi River. We added a domain to our territory 
larger than the original thirteen states. The size of 
the United States was doubled and our western bound- 
ary was advanced from the Mississippi River to the 
Rocky Mountains. 




The Lewis and Clark Expedition 

Jefferson sent two young men, Lewis and Clark, to 
explore our new possessions. They were directed to 
visit the Indian tribes and tell them of the Lewis and 
change of ownership ; also to study the plants ^^^'^^ 
and animals and observe the soil and climate of the 
West. They were provided with boats, provisions, 
and arms as well as presents for the Indians. 



186 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

With boats loaded with coffee, sugar, crackers, dried 
meat, tools, clothing and presents, the party dropped 
Exploring down the Ohio, passed up the Mississippi, and 
1805 ' spent the winter at the little village of St. 
Louis. In the spring they started up the Missouri. In 
many places the current was swift, and often the drift- 
wood nearly upset the boats. The men explored the 
regions along the river and killed deer, bears, and other 
game for food. Near the bluffs opposite the present 
city of Omaha, a council was held with the Indians, the 
peace pipe was smoked, presents were distributed, and 
the Indians were told that the land now belonged to the 
Great Father at Washington. The place was named 
Council Bluffs. 

After traveling sixteen hundred miles the party 
camped for the winter. In the spring they started 
again, passed the mouth of the Yellowstone, and at 
last came in sight of the Rocky Mountains. It was 
a dangerous trip, through wild canons, over slippery 
heights and along steep precipices where one false step 
would mean instant death. Weary, ragged, half- 
starved and footsore, they came to the other side of 
the mountains. 

After a long march they reached the Columbia 
River. Here they built canoes and descended the 
river until they came to the Pacific Ocean. They 
had crossed the western half of the American con- 



ROBERT FULTOX PERFECTS THE STEAMBOAT 187 

tinent, and were glad enough to build a comfortable 

camp and spend the winter on the Pacific slope. 

In the spring they began their long journey 

homeward. They crossed the mountains and the party, 

floated down the Missouri until they came 

to St. Louis, after an absence of two years and four 

months. 

QUESTIONS 

What was the western boundary of our country when Jef- 
ferson became President? What was beyond that? What 
can you say of New Orleans? Why was it important for 
the United States to own New Orleans? What did Jeffer- 
son do? What did France propose? How much did we pay 
for the Louisiana territory? What can you say of the pur- 
chase? What did we gain by it? Who were sent to explore the 
West? What were they directed to do? Where did they spend 
the first winter? Describe the ascent of the Missouri. What 
happened at Council Bluffs? What river did they next explore? 
Where did they spend the second winter? How did they return 
home? How long had they been absent? 



LESSON 56 
ROBERT FULTON PERFECTS THE STEAMBOAT 

One morning a crowd of people stood on a dock in 
New York city waiting to see a strange sight. Robert 
Fulton had announced that he had made a boat that 
would move by steam power, and had invited a 



188 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



number of friends to join him in the first trip up 
the Hudson River to Albany. On all sides were the 

graceful sail boats^ and 
when the people saw 

Fulton's ugly ^Fulton's 

little craft with ^°^^y" 
a smokestack sending 
out clouds of smoke 
they were much amused 
and called it '^Fulton's 
Folly/' 

Fulton had always 
been fond of inventing 
things. When he was a 
boy he made the lead for 
his own pencils; he as- 
tonished the citizens of 
his town by making his 
own fireworks for a 
Fourth of July celebration ; he suggested plans for im- 
proving guns, and one day, on a fishing trip, worked 
out a plan for moving the boat by paddle wheels turned 
by a crank. 

When Fulton became a man he learned to paint 
pictures, but his mind was always on practical things. 
He suggested a scheme for canals and locks, he de- 
vised a submarine torpedo boat, and at last became 




Robert Fulton 



ROBERT FULTON PERFECTS THE STEAMBOAT 189 




The " Clermont " on the Hudson 



interested in the experiment that others were making 
to propel a boat by paddle wheels moved by steam 
power. The steamboats that others had made 

11. 1 1 /• • 1 i Robert Ful- 

had not succeeded tor various reasons, but ton builds • 
Fulton resolved to make one that would be a ^qJ,?^®'^" 
success. When he made his steamboat he 
named it the Clermo7it in honor of the home of his 
friend Robert Livingston, who provided money for 
the building of the boat. It was then that he invited 
his friends for the trial trip, and the crowd gathered 
to see them start. 



190 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




The " Savannah 



The First Steamship to Cross the Ocean 



The boat was quite an ungainly affair. Livingston, 
who was on board, said, ^^It looks like a sawmill 
mounted on a scow and set on fire." Fulton moved 
among his guests and tried to make them cheerful. 
They were doubtful about the success of the experi- 
ment and felt very foolish as the crowd on shore made 
fun of them. Fulton gave the order for the engines to 
start, and to the surprise of every one the boat moved 
boldly away from the shore. 

A cheer arose from the crowd and from the 
mont" starts passeugers. The boat stopped and the cheers 
age,^i807 ^eased. The people on board begged to be 
put ashore, for they thought the boat was a 
failure and were afraid it might sink. Fulton begged 
them to wait a half hour while he found out what was 
the matter. He went below and in a few minutes made 



ROBERT FULTON PERFECTS THE STEAMBOAT 191 




The " LuisiTANiA," one of the largest Steamships in the World 

things right. The engines started, the boat moved, 
the crowds cheered again and the guests smiled. This 
time the boat did not stop but kept on its way up the 
river. As it passed the saihng vessels, the villages on 
the shore, and the farmhouses by the way, the peo- 
ple waved their hats and handkerchiefs and shouted 
congratulations. 

At last the Clermont reached Albany, and started on 
its return down the river. This was accomplished 
in safety, and Fulton^s boat was pronounced a suc- 
cess. The Clermont soon began to make regular trips 
up the Hudson, charging seven dollars from New York 
to Albany. Steam ferry boats soon followed. It was 



192 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



not long before steamboats were made to run on the 
Ohio and Mississippi rivers. 




U. S. Battleship " Florida/' one of the most Powerful Battleships 

IN the World 

Twelve years after the first voyage of the Cler- 
The " savan- ^c>^^, a steamship named the Savannah 
nah," 1819 cj.Qggg(j ^^^ Atlantic Ocean. Since that time 
steamships have been so improved that they are fitted 
up with every luxury, carrying hundreds of passen- 
gers, and crossing the Atlantic in less than a week. 

QUESTIONS 

What had Robert Fulton announced? Whom had he in- 
vited and for what purpose? What did the people think of 
Fulton's boat? What did they call it? What things had 
Fulton done when a boy? What things had he done when he 
became a man? In what did he become interested? What 
did he resolve? What was the name of Fulton's boat? For 
what was it named? What did Livingston say of the boat? 



THE WAR OF 1812 193 

Describe the start. What did Fulton do? Describe the suc- 
cessful trip. What did the Clermont soon begin to do? What 
other steamboats were put in use? When did a steamship 
first cross the Atlantic? What can you say of steamships of the 
present day? 

LESSON 57 
THE WAR OF 1812 

After Jefferson's term of office expired, James 
Madison of Virginia became President. It was during 
his administration that the second war with England 
occurred. It is also called the War of 1812. 

England and France had been at war for some 
time. The United States tried to avoid favoring 
either country, and wished to remain neutral in the war. 
England, however, passed a law that any American 
ship caught trading with France should be seized. 
France likewise passed a law that any American ship 
caught trading with England should be seized. Thus 
th3 American ships could not safely trade with either 
country, and our commerce suffered greatly. 

Many of our vessels were seized upon various pre- 
texts, and their cargoes captured. French vessels 
seized over ten million dollars worth of impressing 
American property. England, however, was «®*"^®^ 
more offensive than France. Her war vessels stopped 
our merchantmen on the seas, sent armed men 



194 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

aboard, mustered the crew, and seized the sailors for 
the British service. The British officers said they 
were searching for Enghsh seamen only, but they made 
httle effort to find out whether those they seized were 
born in England or the United States. This was called 
^ impressing seamen." The English had declared their 
rule to be ^^Once an Englishman always an English- 



man." 



Hundreds of American sailors were seized and 
forced to enter the British service. A storm of pro- 
war declared ^^^^ arose from all parts of the country. Eng- 
june 18, land insisted upon her right to impress sea- 
men from American vessels, and to forbid us 
trading with France. Thereupon war for the second 
time was declared against England. 

The war lasted about two years and a half. The 
battles were mainly at sea, or along the Canadian 
wasMn ton ^ordcr, siuce Canada was a British posses- 
burned by sion. At one time, however, the British fleet 
sailed up Chesapeake Bay and landed an army 
that captured Washington City. President Madison 
and the Cabinet barely escaped. The British burned 
the Capitol and other public buildings, and then pro- 
ceeded to Baltimore. That place was bombarded for 
many hours, but was not captured by the British. 

The most famous naval battle of the war was the 
battle of Lake Erie. The Americans decided to get 



THE WAR OF 1812 



195 



control of Lake Erie and Oliver H. Perry, a young 
naval officer, was sent to accomplish the task. Perry 
had to cut timber from the woods and build the ships 
for his fleet; the iron, stores, canvas and guns had to 
be brought in sledges from distant cities. After a 




Commodore Perry Changes Ships at the Battle of Lake Erie 

winter spent in building the fleet, Perry summoned 
his men on board, sailed into the lake, and challenged 
the British ships to battle. 

It was a desperate engagement that followed. 
Perry^s flagship was shot to pieces and was about to 
sink. In the midst of the battle. Perry took Battle of 
his little brother, tw^elve years old, and enter- ^^^^ ^"® 
ing a small boat reached another vessel, in spite of the 
bullets of the enemy. The battle continued fiercely 



196 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

until several of the British ships were rendered use- 
less, and surrendered. The others tried to escape, 
but were pursued and captured. Perry sat down while 
the smoke of the battle was still in the air and wrote 
a message to the commander-in-chief saying, ^^We 
have met the enemy, and they are ours.'^ 

This great victory gave us control of Lake Erie, and 
compelled the British to retire into Canada. The 
result filled the people with pride and enthusiasm. 
We had won many naval victories in the war. We 
had proved that ship for ship, man for man, and 
gun for gun, America was more than a match for 
England. 

QUESTIONS 

Who became President after Jefferson? What war occurred 
during his administration? What foreign countries were at 
war? What did tlie United States try to do? What law did 
England pass? What law did France pass? How did America 
suffer in consequence? What happened to our ships? In 
what way was England most offensive? What did the British 
officers say? What was this called? Upon what did England 
insist? How long did the war last? Where were the battles 
mainly fought? What city was captured by the British? What 
was the most famous naval battle? What did the Americans 
desire? How did Perry obtain a fleet? Describe the battle of 
Lake Erie. Describe Perry's heroic conduct. What message did 
he send? What was the effect of the battle? 



ANDREW JACKSON AND BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 197 

LESSON 58 
ANDREW JACKSON AND THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 

Before we come to the end of the War of 1812 we 
must learn something of Andrew Jackson. During 
the Revolution he was a poor country boy, ^he young 
living in South Carolina, tall, freckle-faced And^rew 
and full of fire and mischief. He had learned 
the terrors of war, for the British had killed many of 
his neighbors and friends, as well as his own brother. 
When he was thirteen or fourteen years of age he was 
taken prisoner and a British officer said roughly, 
'' Boy, clean my boots ! '' The fiery young Jackson re- 
plied, '' I am a prisoner of war, not a servant; you 
can clean them yourself." The officer struck him on 
the head with a sword, leaving a scar that he carried 
all his life. 

When Jackson became a man he moved to Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, and began to practice law. The 
country was rough and full of Indians, and the vil- 
lages were far apart. He often rode many miles 
through the forests to reach the court. His high tem- 
per led him into many quarrels and fights, and he 
fought a number of duels. When Tennessee became a 
state he was elected to Congress, and afterwards be- 
came a senator. He was not fond of political fife, 
however, and soon retired from office. 



198 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




iryiMAPRisoriER 

ilFWAR,N0TA5tI^V- 
|nT;/OUC/)N CLEflM 
Itkem yOURSELf'' 



During the War of 

1812 Jackson was in 

command of the forces 

that defended the 

southern border. The 

Creek Indians had 

been stirred up by a 

famous warrior named Tecumseh. At 

Fort Mims, in Alabama, they had 

, , fallen upon the garrison and 

Jackson pun- ^ *^ 

ishestiie massacred several hundred 

Creeks i i -i i 

men, women, and children. 
Jackson gathered an army of twenty- 
five hundred men and went in pursuit 
of the savages. He defeated them at 
the battle of Horseshoe Bend on the 
Tallapoosa River. The power of the 
Indians in the South was broken 
forever, and they were glad to sue 
for peace. Jackson had marched his 





Jackson 
British 



ANDREW JACKSON AND BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 199 



army long and far, and had endured much hardship 
without complaint, and so his soldiers named him 
'' Old Hickory " because he was so tough. 

The British threatened to attack New Orleans. 
General Jackson hurried his army to that place. He 
found the people in a panic of fear and dis- 
tress, and he immediately declared martial New Orleans, 
law. The British landed below the city and J|Jf "^ ^' 
Jackson began to build his defences. Day 
and night for weeks the work went on. Every horse, 
mule, ox, and cart in the city was put into service. 
The British ad- 
vanced at night, 
but Jackson was 
on the watch. 
The sleeping 
army was aroused 
and by four 
o' clock every man 
was in his place. 
By daybreak the 
battle began, but 
it was over in two hours. The slaughter of the British, 
as they advanced against the American earthworks, was 
frightful . The killed and wounded fell in heaps until hun- 
dreds were slain. General Jackson lost only a few men. 
The British withdrew from the attack and sailed away. 




An Early Steamship 



200 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

The battle of New Orleans was fought two weeks 
after a treaty of peace had been signed in Europe be- 
tween England and the United States. There 
peace^De- Were uo Cable or telegraph lines, or swift 
cember 24, g^iling steauiboats in those days to carry the 
news. The news of the great victory at New 
Orleans reached the northern states almost simulta- 
neously with that of the signing of the treaty of peace 
that closed the war. Everywhere there was great re- 
joicing. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of Andrew Jackson during the Revolution? 
How had he learned of the terrors of war? Relate the story of 
his encounter with the British officer. Where did he practice 
law? What can you say of his life there? What public offices 
did he hold? What forces did he command in the War of 
1812? What happened at Fort Mims? How were the Indians 
punished? What name was given to Jackson, and why? What 
city did the British threaten to attack? What preparation did 
Jackson make? What can you say of the battle? Of the 
British and American losses? What had happened two weeks 
before the battle? Why did news travel so slowly? ' 



LESSON 59 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENTS 
After the War of 1812 was over there came a long 
era of peace and prosperity. James Monroe, of Vir- 
ginia, succeeded James Madison as President. His term 
of office is known as the '' Era of good feeUng,'' be- 




P A a-i^vl I 



PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENTS 201 

cause there were no political quarrels or wars to vex 
the country. The administration of Monroe is chiefly 
noted for his famous message to Congress, in ^^^ Monroe 
which he declared that the European govern- Doctrine, 
ments should no longer found any colonies in 
America, or interfere in the affairs of any American 
country. This is known as the " Monroe Doctrine/^ 
and is one of the estabhshed principles of our govern- 
ment. 

John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, became the 
next President. The spirit of progress and improve- 
ment had seized the people. One of the The Erie 
greatest enterprises of that day was the Erie ^^''^^' ^^^^ 
Canal, which was to connect the Hudson River with 
Lake Erie. This canal is nearly four hundred miles 
long, and canal boats and barges carry great quan- 
tities of freight from one end to the other at very little 
expense. When it was opened the farmers and mer- 
chants of the West abandoned the wagon roads and 
began to use the canal instead. 

By this time there were ten milHons of people in 
the United States. Instead of thirteen states there 
were twenty- four. Throughout the North people were 
building mills and factories, and in the South more 
cotton was raised every year. Steamboats were ply- 
ing on nearly all the large rivers, roads were opened 
between the large towns, and the nation was showing 



202 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



great progress and prosperity. Coal was coming slowly 
into use, and even gas was being introduced into a 
few large cities. 




The First Locomotive 

The locomotive and the railroad car came into 

notice about this time. The longest and the most 

Be nnin of i^^poi"tant of the early railroads in America 

railroads, was between Charleston and Hamburg, South 

1830 

Carolina. The locomotive used on this road 
was called the '^Best Friend/' and was a very crude 
affair. It was the first locomotive built in the United 
States for actual service on a railroad. It was fed with 
fat pine and sent out clouds of smoke and showers of hot 
cinders. At the end of a trip the blackened passengers 
looked like negroes. A sad accident happened to the 
^^Best Friend. '^ The negro fireman, tired of hearing 
the hissing steam, fastened down the steam valve, 
and then to make sure sat on it. The result is easily 
imagined. 



PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENTS 



203 



On some of the early railroads, the coaches for the 
passengers were like huge barrels mounted on trucks. 
The conductor walked on a little platform Early raii- 
outside and collected fares through small ^°*^^ 
windows. The rails were flat, and not very securely 
fastened to the ties, so that they occasionally curved 




Explosion of " Best Friend '' 



like snakes and ran through the bottom of the cars, to 
the great danger of the passengers. 

The speed of the early locomotive was very slow. 



204 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



When the Baltimore and Ohio railroad announced that 
it would use steam power instead of horse power on 
its road, people were in doubt which was the means 
of faster travel. On a trial trip between the road and 
a stage coach the horse came in as winner. 




One of the First Railroad Trains 

A trip over the Mohawk Valley road was an occa- 
sion of great display. The engineer wore a dress coat 
^ . and the rude coaches were full of distin- 

Trymg expe- 
rience of guished guests in fine clothes. The coaches 
passengers ^^^^ j^^^^ together by slack chains, so that 

when the train started nearly everybody was thrown 
out of his seat. The engine sent out so much smoke 
that the passengers were almost blinded and choked, 
and the hot cinders made them so uncomfortable that 
they raised their umbrellas. But as the umbrellas 
soon caught fire they were thrown away, while the 
guests spent their time beating each other with hats, 
handkerchiefs, and canes to put out the fire. Never- 
theless, the trip was declared a great success. 

From this beginning railroads grew rapidly. In ten 



PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENTS 



205 




The New York Central's 20th Century Limited, 18 Hours between 
New York and Chicago 





e 






■-^^ 










<i^ 




^, 


"1 






WC^''j^^ 


I4f^ 


^>lr 




1 








s 


m 


^^^ 


'K- 


5 




^■<*->i,„ 


Wm 


^s 


E 


-c; 


ILJ^ 



























Electric Locomotive 



years there were three thousand miles of road, hun- 
dreds of locomotives and comfortable coaches. To-day, 
the railroads of the United States, if put into a straight 
line, would reach nine times around the world. Ex- 



206 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



press trains go fifty miles or more an hour, and every 
comfort is provided for the passengers. 

Of late, American engineers have made electric 
locomotives of great speed and power, which in our 



^ 


^^^^^^K,.. .._... 








iM^^^^ 



The Latest — A Flying Machine 

large cities are taking the place of the steam loco- 
motive. The flying machine is the latest device in 
locomotion, and has already been tested to a speed 
of more than a mile a minute. There seems to be 
dawning upon us the age of the flying machine. 



Mi 



HENRY CLAY 207 

QUESTIONS 

What came after the War of 1812? Who succeeded Madison 
as President? What is his term of office known as? Why? 
For what is Monroe's administration chiefly noted? What is 
the ''Monroe Doctrine?" Who succeeded Monroe? What 
spirit had -seized the people? What can you say of the Erie 
Canal? How many people were in the United States at this 
time? How many states? What signs of prosperity can you 
mention? What especially was coming into notice? Describe 
the " Best Friend." Describe the passenger coaches. Describe 
the rails. What can you say of the speed of the early loco- 
motive? Illustrate it. Describe the early trip over the 
Mohawk Valley road. What can you say of the railroads of the 
present day? 

LESSON 60 
HENRY CLAY 

Many of the great men of America were born in the 
country, with few advantages, spending their early hfe 
in poverty, toil, and hardship. They became The mm boy 
eminent by faithful work, hard study, and °^ ^^® ®^^^^®® 
close attention to duty. Henry Clay was one of these. 
When he was a boy in Virginia he attended school in 
a log schoolhouse, plowed barefoot in the fields, and 
could often be seen riding a pony to mill, seated on a 
meal-sack. People soon began to call him the ^^mill 
boy of the slashes,'' and in after life he was proud of 
the name they had given him. 




Mill Boy of the Slashes 



When he was about fifteen 
years of age he moved to Rich- 
mond and became a copying 
clerk in one of the ^. . ^ , 

His industry 

courts. When he first and studi- 
entered the clerk's 
office he was tall and awk- 
ward and wore a badly fitting 
suit of clothes which his mother 
had made for him. The other 
clerks laughed at him, but 
they soon learned to respect 
him for his good nature and 
intelligence. Every night when 
the other clerks went out for 
amusement Clay went home 
to read. 

When he was twenty- one he 
moved to Kentucky and began 
to practice law. He ^^^ 

was successful from lawyer and 
- , an orator 

the start, and soon 
had many clients. It has been 
said that no murderer who was 
defended by Henry Clay ever 
suffered the extreme penalty 
of the law. He soon entered 

208 



HENRY CLAY 



209 





Henry Clay 



public life, was elected to the state legislature, then 
was appointed to the United States Senate, and later 
was elected to the House of Representatives. He was 
chosen as Speaker, or presiding officer, seven times, 



210 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

serving fourteen years in all. He was a great orator. 
He had a rich, musical voice, and whenever he 
spoke crowds came to hear him. He was polite in his 
manners, never forgot a name or a face, and made 
many friends by his genial smile and warm hand- grasp. 

When Clay was Speaker of the House of Represent- 
atives the great question of slavery was disturbing 
the country. By this time all the northern states had 
freed their slaves, and slaveholding was confined to 
the southern states. In the North there was a grow- 
ing sentiment against slavery, while in the South, 
where slave labor was profitable, the feehng was very 
much in favor of it. 

From time to time new states had been admitted to 

the Union. Some were free states and some were 

slave states. It so happened that the num- 

Slave states ^ ^^ 

and free bcr of cach kind had been kept equal, so that 

states . . 

the advocates of neither side of the slavery 
question could control the government. By this time 
there were twenty- two states, eleven free and eleven 
slave. Then the question came up of admitting Maine 
and Missouri as states. Maine would be a free state, 
of course, and if Missouri came in as a free state, then 
the free states would be two more in number than the 
slave states. 

A great discussion on the admission of Missouri 
arose in Congress. Should slavery be permitted in 



HENRY CLAY 211 

Missouri or not? It seemed as if the Union itself was 
in danger. To bring peace to the country, Henry Clay 
came forward with a compromise. He pro- TheMissouri 
posed that Missouri should come in as a slave compromise, 
state, but that all the rest of the Louisiana 
territory, north of the line that forms the southern 
boundary of Missouri (36° 300 should forever be free 
territory. This is known as the ''Missouri Compro- 
mise/' Both sides agreed to it, and the dangerous 
question of slavery slept for a while. 

Clay became known as the '' Great Pacificator '' on 
account of his successful efforts in preventing the dis- 
pute regarding slavery and the tariff from breaking up 
the Union. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of many of the great men of America? 
What can you say of Clay's boyhood in Virginia? What name 
did he receive? What did he become when he was fifteen years 
of age? Describe his appearance. What can you say of his 
industry? When did he move to Kentucky? What can you 
say of his success as a lawyer? What public offices did he hold? 
What can you say of him as an orator? What great question 
was disturbing the country? What can you say of slavehold- 
ing? What was the feehng about it? Why was there a dispute 
over the admission of Missouri? What compromise did Clay 
propose? What is this compromise called? What name did 
Clay receive on account of his peaceful measures? 



212 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

LESSON 61 
DANIEL WEBSTER 

Daniel Webster was born on a farm in New 
Hampshire. He was a delicate child, unable to do 
Webster as a hard work, but was wonderfully bright, 
child What time he was not at play he spent in 

some quiet corner reading a book. He entered school 
when very young and soon learned all his teacher was 
able to teach him. He was known far and wide as a 
remarkable child. One day a storekeeper showed 
him a copy of the Constitution of the United States 
printed on a cotton handkerchief. Webster did not 
rest until he had saved enough pennies to buy it, and 
when he bought it he did not rest until he had learned 
the Constitution by heart. 

Webster^s father was a poor man with but little 
learning. He was wise enough, how^jever, to know the 
Webster in advantages of an education. One day he 
college ^^Yd his son he intended to send him to col- 
lege. Webster was so anxious for an education that 
he could not speak for emotion. He afterwards said, 
'^A warm glow ran all over me, and I laid my head on 
my father's shoulder and wept." At college he was a 
hard student, and in a short time was the best speaker 
and writer in his class. 

When Webster left college he began to practice law, 



DANIEL WEBSTER 



213 




Daniel Webster 



and later moved to Boston. He was no longer deli- 
cate and slender but had become a man of noble ap- 
pearance, sturdy and dignified. His eyes were dark 
and his brow was massive. People said, ^^When 



214 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Daniel Webster walked the streets of Boston he made 
the buildings look small. '^ Once when he visited 
Europe some one said, ^^ Surely there goes a king!" 
A great wit said, on looking at his dignified ap- 
pearance, ^^He is a small cathedral by himself.'^ 

Webster was elected a member of the United States 
Senate from Massachusetts. At that time one of the 
Tariff for great questions agitating the country was 
revenue ^^le tariff. In order to raise money to run 
the government, taxes or duties were laid on many 
articles brought from abroad and offered for sale in 
America. The money thus raised for this purpose was 
called a tariff for revenue, and everybody was content 
to pay it, so long as it was used only to pay the ex- 
penses of the government. 

After a while, however, the government increased 
the duties on certain articles in order to keep foreign 
Tariff for goods from being sold in America at a less 
protection p^ice than the same kind of articles could be 
profitably manufactured and sold for in this country. 
This was called a tariff for protection, and only those 
sections engaged in manufacturing were benefited 
by it. 

The tariff for protection bore hard on the southern 
people because they had to buy manufactured articles 
mainly from New England, and the high prices threat- 
ened to reduce the South to poverty. They therefore 



DANIEL WEBSTER 215 

complained loudly of the tariff. The New England 
manufacturers replied that without the high prices 
their mills would have to be shut down, and then they 
would be the ones reduced to poverty. A quarrel 
began between the agricultural states and the manu- 
facturing states. Some of the southern states threat- 
ened to disregard the tariff laws of Congress, and to 
declare them null and void inside their borders. 

This condition of affairs brought about a great 
debate in the United States Senate between Robert Y. 
Hayne, from South Carolina, and Daniel 

. I. , ^ The Hayne- 

Webster, from Massachusetts. Hayne de- Webster de- 
clared that the people of the southern states * ^' 
were compelled by the tariff law to buy manufactured 
articles at a price they could not afford, that New 
England was getting rich and the South was getting 
poor, and that it was unconstitutional for laws to 
oppress one section in order to enrich another. Under 
such conditions a state had the right to refuse to obey 
the laws. 

Webster, in his reply to Hayne, argued that no 
single state could be the judge of the wisdom of the 
laws of Congress; that the union of the states could 
not be broken by any one of them, and that no state 
had the right to nullify a law of the land. Webster's 
speech on this occasion raised him to the rank of the 
greatest of American orators. 



216 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

QUESTIONS 

Where was Webster born? What kind of child was he? 
What can you say of his fondness for books? How did he first 
learn the Constitution? Relate the incident of his father's 
sending him to college. How did he act at college? To what 
place did he move? Describe his appearance. What was said 
of him? To what pubhc office was he elected? What great 
question came before the country? What is a tariff for reve- 
nue? What is a tariff for protection? On what people did the 
protective tariff bear hard? Why? What did the manufac- 
turers reply? What did some southern states threaten to do? 
What great debate occurred? What were some of Hayne's 
arguments? What did Webster say in reply? What rank did 
Webster now take? 

LESSON 62 
JOHN C. CALHOUN 

John C. Calhoun was born and reared in South 
Carolina. When a boy he worked in the field with 
Calhoun as a his father and listened to his stories of Revo- 
student lutionary times as they sat by the fire on 
winter nights. He grew up a quiet, thoughtful boy, 
fond of rambling through the woods and of reading 
books on history. When he was about twenty years 
of age he entered Yale College and soon was the leader 
of his class. The president was so struck with his 
studiousness and ability that he said, ^Talhounwill be 
a great man, — perhaps the President of the United 
States.'^ 



JOHN C. CALHOUN 



217 




John C. Calhoun 



After studying law for several years he began to 
practice in South Carolina, but he did not enjoy it. 
He called reading law "sl dry and solitary journey/' 
He preferred history, the great deeds of great men. 



218 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

He soon entered public life and was sent to Congress 
about the time the War of 1812 began. The members 
were delighted with his powers of oratory. His great 
blue eyes glowed like coals of fire, his hair fell in 
masses about his broad forehead, and his rich voice 
poured out a volume of ringing words. 

Andrew Jackson succeeded John Quincy Adams as 
President of the United States. Calhoun was vice- 
president. In that office it was his duty to 
advicrto^ preside over the Senate. It was the time of 
una*\83r ^^^ great agitation over the question of the 
tariff. Calhoun wrote a letter to the people 
of South Carolina in which he told them there would 
always be a conflict between the interests of the North 
and the South; that the southern people who used 
slave labor to raise cotton and tobacco could not have 
the same interests as the northern people who used 
free labor to manufacture cloth and iron; that the 
tariff was designed to help the northern states and to 
hurt the southern states. He therefore declared that 
the way to protect South Carolina from this unjust law 
was to declare it null and void so far as South Carolina 
was concerned. 

South Carolina took his advice and passed an ordi- 
nance of nullification. President Jackson threatened 
to send troops into that state to enforce the tariff, 
and to hang any man who shed a drop of blood in 



JOHN C. CALHOUN 



219 




Andrew Jackson 



opposition to the laws. He secured the passage of a 
bill by Congress known as the Force Bill, giving him 
the power to use the army and navy to enforce the 
collection of the tariff. 



220 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

But South Carolina was a plucky state and Calhoun 
was a determined leader. It looked as if civil war 
would follow. Henry Clay, however, secured a com- 
promise measure by which the tariff was reduced a 
little every year, and South Carolina repealed the ordi- 
nance of nuUification. This was the second time that 
Clay had brought peace to the country. 

Calhoun was in public life for nearly forty years. 
He resigned the office of vice-president in order to be- 
caihoun as a come a United States senator. With Clay and 
leader Webster he formed ''the great trio" of sena- 

tors whose wonderful abilities controlled the destinies 
of the country for more than a generation. Calhoun 
was the great leader of the southern people, the advo- 
cate of the rights of the states, and a firm behever in 
preserving the institution of slavery. 

QUESTIONS 

Where was Calhoun born and reared? Tell something of his 
early life. When did he enter Congress? What can you 
say of his power of oratory? Who succeeded Adams as 
President? What office did Calhoun hold? What was the 
question of the day? What did Calhoun tell the people of 
South Carohna? What did he declare? What did South Caro- 
lina do? What was the action of President Jackson? What 
bill was passed by Congress? How was peace secured? What 
was the compromise? What did Carolina do? Who com- 
posed 'Hhe great trio?" What can you say of Calhoun as a 
leader? In what was he a firm believer? 



MORSE INVENTS THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH 221 




LESSON 63 

MORSE INVENTS THE ELECTRIC 

TELEGRAPH 

Upon one occasion a number of 
passengers on board a vessel return- 
ing from Europe to America were 
discussing electricity. In the company was Samuel 
F. B. Morse, a painter, who had been abroad studying 
art. One of the company remarked, ^^ I have heard that 
a current of electricity passes over a very long wire 
almost instantaneously.^' This set Morse to thinking 
and to planning how an electric current might be used 
to make signals, and by means of wires to carry mes- 
sages over long distances. 

Morse worked on the drawings of an instrument and 
wrote an alphabet of dots and dashes. Be- jjo^e works 
fore the ship reached New York he had prac- onhisinven- 
tically invented the telegraph as we know 
it at the present day. He became so interested in the 



222 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



idea that he painted no more pictures, but gave him- 
self up to making a telegraph instrument. He worked 
day and night in an attic room in New York, leaving 

his bench only to get a little 
food. He was very poor, 
and his friends thought it 
a great pity for so fine an 
artist to be wasting his time 
on so foolish an idea. 

At last the instrument 
was made and his friends 
were invited to see Testing the 
it work. He ^'^'^'^"^^ 
showed them a large coil of 
wire, with an instrument at 
one end for sending a mes- 
sage, and a receiver at the 
other end for taking it. 
Some of the guests whis- 
He sent the words over the 
wire, which were received in dots and dashes on a piece 
of paper at the other end of the wire. The messages 
were then read by some one who understood the Morse 
alphabet. The guests were greatly astonished and 
delighted. 

Morse was too poor to build a telegraph line with- 
out assistance, and so he applied to Congress for thirty 




Samuel F. B. Morse 



pered messages to Morse. 



MORSE INVENTS THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH 223 

thousand dollars to test his invention. Some of the 
members made great sport of the idea and had many 
jokes at Morsels expense. The hour of adjournment 
of Congress approached and Morse saw no^ 

^ ^^ Congress 

chance of getting the appropriation. He left makes an 
the hall and went home in great discourage- 
ment. Early next morning a young lady, a friend of 
the inventor, came to him and said, ^^Your bill was 
passed by Congress at the last moment, and I come to 
congratulate you." Morse was greatly delighted, and 
told the young lady that she should send the first mes- 
sage over the wires when the line was completed. 

Morse began to build a line between Washington 
and Baltimore. At first the wires were put in tubes 
and buried in the ground, but that did not^^^^^^^^ 
work well. They were then put on poles, as news by teie- 
we see them at the present day. When ^^^^ ' 
twenty- two miles had been finished from Washington 
toward Baltimore, Morse decided to give the people a 
surprise. A convention held in Baltimore had nomi- 
nated a candidate for President. When the conven- 
tion had acted, a train started with the news to Wash- 
ington. When the train reached the telegraph wire 
the news was promptly sent on to Washington ahead 
of the train. The passengers were much astonished 
on reaching the city to find that the news was already 
one or two hours old. 



224 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

When the hne was finished to Baltimore and the 
day came to make the test, Morse asked the young 
The first ^^^J who had brought him word that Con- 
message, gress had granted him the money, to send 
the first message. She wrote the words from 
the Bible ^^ What hath God wrought ! " After this first 
message a conversation followed over the wires and 
the great electric telegraph was declared a success. 

Many years afterwards Cyrus W. Field decided to 
lay an electric cable under the Atlantic Ocean, so that 
The Atlantic mcssages could be sent between Europe and 
Cable, 1866 America. The wires were protected by gutta 
percha and laid along the ocean bed. Several at- 
tempts were made before a successful cable was laid. 
At the present day millions of miles of telegraph and 
cable wire connect all cities and countries, and the 
events of each day in all parts of the earth are flashed 
over the wires and are printed in the papers. Much of 
our business depends on the telegraph, and we can 
have the satisfaction of hearing from our relatives and 
friends from any part of the earth in a few hours. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was Samuel F. B. Morse? How was the idea of an 
electric telegraph suggested to him? What did he think and 
plan? What did he work on and what did he write? How 
did he work when he reached New York? What did his frienda 
think? What* did he finally show his friends? How was the 



TEXAS BECOMES A PART OF THE UNITED STATES 225 

instrument tested? What appropriation did Congress make?' 
What Une was started? What was the first plan for laying the 
wires? What surprise did Morse give the people of Washing- 
ton? What was the first message sent over the completed 
wires? Who laid a cable under the Atlantic Ocean? What can 
you say of telegraph and cable Hues at the present day? 

LESSON 64 
TEXAS BECOMES A PART OF THE UNITED STATES 
The hero of the independence of Texas was Sam 
Houston (Hu'-ston). He was born in Virginia and 
moved to Tennessee when he was thirteen sam 
years old. His brothers placed him in a ^°^*^'^ 
trader's store as clerk, but he did not like this tame 
life and ran away to live with the Cherokee Indians. 
The chief adopted him as his son, and made him dress 
in Indian fashion and learn the Indian language. 

During the War of 1812 Houston was an officer 
under General Jackson in the battle of Horseshoe 
Bend. As he was leading his men against the Creek 
Indians a barbed arrow struck him in the leg. A 
friend pulled the arrow from the wound and the blood 
flowed freely. In spite of this Houston remained in 
the battle. He was so weakened by wounds and loss 
of blood that he had to be conveyed to his mother's 
home on a litter, several hundred miles through the 
rough country. It took him a long time to regain his 
health. 



226 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Sam Houston 



Afterwards Houston began the practice of law in 
Nashville. He was elected a member of Congress and 
later on became Governor of Tennessee. While he 



TEXAS BECOMES A PART OF THE UNITED STATES 227 

was a candidate for reelection he suddenly resigned 
his office and left the state. He went again to the 
Cherokee Indians, and found the old chief Abandons 
who had adopted him as a son. He took p^^^^^^^^® 
up the life and habits of a savage. He dressed like the 
Indians, spoke their language, and sat with the chief 
on the floor of his cabin eating hominy out of the same 
dish with his savage friends. 

After a year he went to Washington to see his 
friend Andrew Jackson, who was the President of the 
United States, in order to protest against the way the 
Indian agents were treating the savages. He declared 
the agents were swindling the Indians in buying their 
lands for such trifles as a blanket, a flask of powder, or 
a bottle of whiskey. After that the swindling agents 
were removed and the Indians had better treatment. 

Houston now left his Cherokee friends and moved to 
Texas. That great country was a part of Mexico, but 
many of the inhabitants were settlers from „ , 

^ , ^ Houston 

the United States. The Texans were tired of moves to 
the treatment they received from Mexico, 
and finally declared themselves free and independent. 
This brought on a war between Texas and Mexico. 
Sam Houston was elected commander-in-chief of the 
Texas army. 

The most noted event in the war was the capture 
by a large Mexican force of an old mission near San 



228 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Antonio called the Alamo (Ah' -la- mo). Inside the fort 
were one hundred and fifty-five Texans besieged by a 
The Massa- thousand OF more Mexicans. The brave com- 
creatthe mandcr answered the demand for surrender 
by a cannon shot. He said, ^^ I shall never 
surrender or retreat." After a ten days' siege the 
Mexicans stormed the fort. So great were their num- 
bers that they ^'tumbled over the walls Hke sheep.'' 
The Texans fought from room to room, using their 
clubbed rifles and bowie knives, so long as there was 
one left alive. At last the brave defenders were all 
slain, not one being spared. After the fort had fallen 
five Texans who were discovered in hiding were taken 
out and run through with a bayonet. It was a 
dreadful massacre, and fired the hearts of the Texans 
for revenge. 

In addition to this outrage, the Mexicans had cap- 
tured a number of soldiers at Fort Goliad and taken 
them prisoners of war. After the soldiers had sur- 
rendered their arms and were expecting to be sent 
home on parole, the Mexicans marched them out of 
the fort and shot them to death. 

Santa Anna, the Mexican general, paid dearly for 
his cruelty. General Houston pursued him and over- 
Battie of San took him at the San Jacinto (San Ha-thm-to) 
Jacinto, 1836 j^^^^j,^ The soldicrs went into battle cry- 
inor: ^^ Remember the Alamo! Remember the Ala- 



TEXAS BECOMES A PART OF THE UNITED STATES 229 

mo!^^ The Mexicans fled before them and were cut 
down with great slaughter. Santa Anna was captured, 
over six hundred of his men killed, and the independ- 
ence of Texas was secured. 

Texas became known as the '^Lone Star Republic,^' 
because it had a flag with one star. Sam Houston 
was the first President after its independence r^^^ ^^^^^_ 
had been recognized. Texas applied for ad- sionof 

Texas 1845 

mission into the Union. The request was 
granted after eight years of opposition by the northern 
states, on the ground that Texas would be a slave state, 
and already there was bitter opposition to the ex- 
tension of slave territory. 

QUESTIONS 

Who was Sam Houston? What were the incidents of his 
early Ufe? What happened to him at the battle of Horseshoe 
Bend? What public offices did he hold? What did he do 
while governor of Tennessee? Where did he go? Why did he 
go to Washington? What did he declare? Into what country 
did Houston move? What can you say of Texas? What did 
the Texans declare? What position was given to Houston? 
Describe the massacre of the Texans at the Alamo. What had 
happened at Fort Goliad? Describe the battle of San Jacinto. 
What name was given to Texas? What office did Houston 
hold? What did Texas apply for? With what opposition did 
the application meet? 



230 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

LESSON 65 
WE ACQUIRE THE PACIFIC SLOPE 

Mexico had never yielded her claim to Texas. 
When that state became a part of the United States 
Mexico took offence, and the relations between the 
two countries were by no means 
friendly. The southern part of Texas 
was disputed territory and the Mexi- 
can troops there soon came into 
conflict with the American troops. 
This brought on war between the 
two countries. 

The war with Mexico lasted nearly 

two years. General Zacharv Taylor 

Gen. WiNFiELD Scott ^^^^^ ^^^ Mexicans out "^ of the 

lower part of Texas and held that territory ^^,,^^^1^ 
for the United States. General Winfield Mexico, 
Scott marched from Vera Cruz to the City of 
Mexico, defeating the Mexican army in every engage- 
ment and finally capturing the city itself. During the 
war the Mexicans did not win a single battle. 

A treaty of peace was signed by which Mexico gave 
up to the United States all the territory of New 
Mexico and California, and the Rio Grande was recog- 
nized as the southern boundary of Texas. The 
United States paid Mexico $15,000,000 and agreed to 




WE ACQUIRE THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



231 



settle $3,500,000 worth of Mexican debts due to 
American citizens. 



|HH||^^^^^^^^^^^P^^^^HHH|i^^^^^^^^^^^H 


?^s»^»!^ft^^^cr^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^H 





An Alfalfa Field in California 

In the meantime a treaty had been made with Eng- 
land by which the Oregon territory was divided be- 
tween that country and the United States, me Oregon 
Thus by the treaties with Mexico and with ^^'^^^'^ 
England our territory was extended from the Rocky 
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The new territory 
covered an area of about a million and a quarter 
square miles. 

Nine days before the signing of the treaty with 



232 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Mexico, gold was discovered in California. Captain 
Sutter had built a fort where the city of Sacramento 
Discover of ^^^ stauds. Fifty miles above it on a branch 
gold in caii- of the American River he was having a saw- 
mill built. One of the men, while watching 
the water in the mill-race, observed shining particles 




Fruin a painting 



Sutter's Mill and Race 



in the sand. It occurred to him that they might be 
gold. Hastily gathering as many of the particles as he 
could, he mounted a horse and rode to Sutter's fort. 



WE ACQUIRE THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



233 



Here he and Sutter examined the particles and found 
that they really were gold. 





ab|.Ma| 


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1 


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i 

If 

m ' '' 1 
1 "'?* 1 


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■"W.-M^'^H^S 



Big Trees of California 



In a short time the fact became known. News was 
carried to the seacoast and thence to all parts of the 
world. Gold had been discovered in Cali- The rush to 
fornia! A wild rush to the gold fields ensued, the gold 
Everybody began digging for gold and stories 
were told of fortunes made in a week. Gold hunters and 
settlers swarmed overland and by sea into California. 
In a little over a year as many as a hundred thousand 
people moved to the Pacific slope. From a place of a 



234 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

few cabins and stores, San Francisco sprang into a 
city of twenty thousand inhabitants. 

Gold was discovered in other places in the West, 
and crowds of immigrants poured into its vast and 
fertile plains. Long wagon trains crossed the prairies, 
the women and the children riding in the great covered 
wagons that contained the household goods, the men 
walking and keeping a sharp lookout for Indians and 
wild beasts. Some of these immigrants came from the 
South, bringing ideas of slavery, and some came from 
the North, bringing ideas of freedom. Therefore, in 
some of the states of the West, when they applied for 
admission to the Union, there were strife and blood- 
shed over the question of slavery. 

QUESTIONS 

What had Mexico never yielded? How did Mexico feel 
towards the United States? What brought about war? How 
long did the war with Mexico last? What did General Taylor 
do? What did General Scott do? What can you say of the 
Mexicans during the war? What were the conditions of the 
treaty of peace? What other treaty had been made in the 
meantime? To where did our new possessions reach? How 
much area did they cover? What event happened in Cali- 
fornia about this time? Describe the discovery of gold. De- 
scribe the excitement it created. How did the Pacific slope 
grow in population? What can you say of San Francisco? 
What can you say of immigrants to the West? What was the 
cause of much strife and bloodshed in the West? 



HEROES OF THE CIVIL WAR 



LESSON 66 . 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

For a long time the northern states and the south- 
ern states had differed on the subject of slavery. 
The people of the South not only desired to keep their 
slaves but wished to carry them into the West, as that 
territory was opened to settlers. The people of the 
North were not only opposed to slavery in the western 
states, but many of them were openly opposed to 
slavery anywhere. 

Abolition societies were formed in many places in 
the North for the purpose of bringing about the free- 
ing of the slaves. Runaway slaves escaping slavery dis- 
from the South into the North were often p""^"' 
kept in hiding and aided to get beyond the reach of 
their masters. When the people of the territory of 
Kansas were left to settle the question for themselves, 
settlers from the North advocating no slavery and 
settlers from the South determined on slavery moved 
in, and a condition of war existed for several years 
during which many persons were killed. 

235 



236 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Among the most fanatical of the abohtionists was 
John Brown. He and his sons had engaged actively 
John Brown in the Kansas war. Going to Virginia with a 
raid, 1859 ^g^j^j Qf twenty followers he seized the arsenal 
at Harper's Ferry. He then called on the slaves to 
rise and arm themselves. To his surprise the slaves 
did not rise, nor did anyone else come to his aid. 
Brown was captured and hanged for inciting an insur- 
rection. This incident is known as the ^^John Brown 
Raid." 

It can easily be seen that all this aggravated the 
bad feeling between the North and the South. The 
South insisted that under the Constitution it had a 
right to hold slaves, and that the North should not 
interfere with that right. The North insisted that 
slavery was a great wrong, that it should not spread 
beyond the limits of the South, and indeed that it 
ought to be altogether abolished. 

During this state of feeling Abraham Lincoln of 
Illinois was elected President of the United States. 
Abraham Liucolu was oue of the truly great men of the 
Lincoln nation. He was born in a log cabin in Ken- 
tucky, of very poor parents. When a boy his parents 
moved to Indiana, and later on, when Lincoln was 
twenty- one, the family moved to Illinois. His early 
years were spent in great hardship. He went to 
school not more than twelve months in all his life. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



237 




Abraham Lincoln 



When he reached Illinois he did any kind of work 
that he could find. He cut down trees, and so great was 
his skill and strength that it was said he His early 
could sink an axe deeper into a tree than any ^^^® 
other man in Illinois. He split rails and built fences; 



238 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



he worked on a flatboat down the Mississippi River, 
and then clerked in a store. Whatever he did, he 
did well, and he was admired by all his friends. Like 
nearly all great men he was fond of reading, and even 




Lincoln Reading 



when a boy, after a day's hard work, he would sit 
before a fire and by its light read some book he had 
borrowed from a neighbor. After a while he began to 
practice law and was sent to the legislature. He be- 
came noted for his plain, common- sense way of speak- 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN 239 

ing, his homely wisdom, and for his humor. He 
seemed to have a story to fit every occasion. He 
was called '^Honest Abe/^ because he always said and 
did what he thought was right. 

At one time he engaged in a great debate with 
Stephen A. Douglas. Both were candidates for the 
United States Senate. The two men went ^. , 

Lmcoln- 

from town to town discussing, before large Douglas de- 
crowds, the subject of slavery in the terri- 
tories. Lincoln was defeated, but his speeches were 
printed in all the papers, were read by everybody, and 
made him famous. 

Lincoln was the candidate of the Republican party 
for President, the party whose principles were opposed 
to slavery. He had expressed his sentiments in these 
words: ^^A house divided against itself cannot stand. 
I believe this government cannot endure half slave 
and half free. I do not expect the house to fall, but I 
do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become 
all one thing or all the other. ^' 

Lincoln was President during the four 3'ears of the 
Civil War. During the war he issued his famous proc- 
lamation freeing the slaves in the states en- Freeing the 
gaged in war against the Union. He said: ^i^^es, ises 
^^My paramount object is to save the Union. If I 
could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I 
would do it. If I could save it by freeing all of the 



240 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

slaves, I would do it. If I could save it by freeing 
some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.'' 
After the surrender of the Southern army, Lincoln 
was assassinated in Washington City while 
saihiated" Seated in a box at a theatre. He died the next 
m5^ ^^' day. The nation was thrown into great grief 
over the deplorable event, for he was ad- 
mired, honored, and respected by all people from all 
sections of the country. 

QUESTIONS 

What did the people of the South desire about slavery? 
What was the attitude of the people of the North? What can 
you say of abolition societies? Of runaway slaves? Of the 
trouble in Kansas? What had John Brown and his sons done 
in Kansas? What was the John Brown raid? What did the 
South insist upon? What did the North insist upon? Who 
was elected President under this condition? 

What can you say of Lincoln? Of his early life? Of his 
character? What can you say of his life in Illinois? What can 
you say of his fondness for learning? What name did he 
acquire? What can you say of the Lincoln-Douglas debate? 
How had Lincoln expressed his sentiments? What did he say 
was his object in freeing the slaves? What happened to Lincoln 
after the close of the Civil War? 



JEFFERSON DAVIS 241 

LESSON 67 
JEFFERSON DAVIS 
As soon as it became known that Lincoln was 
elected President of the United States, South Caro- 
lina passed an ^^ ordinance of secession/^ which ™ ^ , ^ 

^ ^ ' The Confed- 

meant that that state withdrew from the erate states 
Union. In a short time ten other southern 
states also withdrew, making eleven in all. These 
states united to form a separate government called 
^^The Confederate States of America.'^ The names of 
the Confederate States are, Virginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, 
Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas. The first cap- 
ital of the Confederate States was Montgomery, Ala- 
bama, but as soon as the war began the capital was 
changed to Richmond, Virginia. 

Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was elected Presi- 
dent of the Confederate States. He was born in Ken- 
tucky not more than a hundred miles from jefferson 
the birthplace of Lincoln. He was eight ^^^" 
months older than Lincoln. In early life Davis had 
moved to Mississippi and had grown up familiar with 
slaveholding conditions. When he was sixteen years 
old he went to the West Point Military Academy, and 
was trained to be a soldier. He was in the Indian 
wars of the West, and rendered valuable service as a 
soldier in the war with Mexico. He was elected senator 



242 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Jefferson Davis 



from Mississippi, and became the champion of the right 
of the southern people to hold slaves, and of the exten- 
sion of slavery in the states and territories of the West 
if the people there desired to have it. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS 243 

The great purpose of President Davis was to pre- 
serve the rights of the states as guaranteed by the 
Constitution. He beheved that the Union 

,, , Purpose and 

was an agreement among all the states for opinions of 
certain purposes expressed in the Constitu- ^^""^ 
tion itself, and that slaveholding was one of the 
things that each state had the right to decide for 
itself, and with which the general government had no 
right to interfere. He maintained that the rights of 
the states were more sacred than the Union itself, and 
that when one section of the country violated the Con- 
stitution, the other sections were no longer bound by it. 
Davis was President of the Confederate States dur- 
ing the four years of the Civil War, as Lincoln was 
President of the United States. He lived Davis during 
during these trying years in Richmond, Vir- ^^® "^^^ 
ginia, the capital of the Confederacy. At the close of 
the war, and when the last hope of success for the 
southern army had gone, and the northern soldiers 
were about to capture Richmond, President Davis left 
the capital and traveled southward. He was arrested 
in Georgia, held on the charge of treason, and thrown 
into prison. His case was never brought to trial. 
After two years he was released and retired to his 
home in Mississippi. Here he spent the remainder of 
his life in dignified retirement, dying at the age of 
eighty- one years. 



244 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Davis will ever remain dear to the hearts of the 
South. Great as an orator and statesman, steadfast 
in the belief that the cause of his people was just, 
patient and uncomplaining under misfortune and 
abuse, he will ever have the respect, admiration, and 
affection of the southern people. 

QUESTIONS 

What ordinance did South Carolina pass? What did it 
mean? How many states followed? What government did 
they form? Under what name? Name the Confederate States. 
What was the first capital of the Confederacy? What was the 
second? Who was elected President of the Confederate States? 
Where was Davis born? To what state had he moved in early 
life? Where was he trained to be a soldier? In what wars did 
he serve? Of what was he an advocate in the Senate? What 
was his great purpose? What did he believe about the Union? 
About slaveholding? What did he maintain about the rights of 
the states? Where did Davis live during the war? What did 
he do at the close of the war? What can you say of his im- 
prisonment? Where and at what age did he die? What can 
you say of him? 

LESSON 68 
STONEWALL JACKSON 

The Civil War began by the bombardment of Fort 
Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. 
The fort held a garrison of northern soldiers and a 
vessel had arrived outside the harbor with still more 



STONEWALL JACKSON 245 

troops to add to those already in the fort. This was 
considered by President Davis an act of hostihty. 
The surrender of the fort was demanded; the demand 
was refused, and accordingly the fort was fired upon. 

The bombardment lasted thirty-four hours until the 
fort was almost in ruins. After a brave defence the 
commander surrendered and Fort Sumter fell , ^ ^ 

fiomoard- 

mto the hands of the Confederacy. The news of ^^^^ ^^ ^o^t 
the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sum- ApriiTi, 
ter created intense excitement everywhere. ^^^^ 
President Lincoln called for seventy- five thousand 
soldiers to carry on the war, and President Davis called 
for volunteers to resist invasion. The war was begun, 
and both sides prepared in earnest for the deadly 
conflict. 

Virginia was the main battle ground of the war, and 
the capture of Richmond was one of the main objects 
of the northern army. The cry was: ''On 

, y^., ,,,, Ai ,., First battle 

to Jtticnmond ! A splendid army marched of Manassas, 
out of Washington with banners and music. ^''^^' ^^^^ 
Crowds of people went along in wagons and carriages. 
A southern army had been gathered to meet the ad- 
vancing enemy, and the two hosts met at Manassas 
Junction. Then occurred the first great battle of the 
war, known as the battle of Manassas or Bull Run. It 
was a great Confederate victory. The northern troops 
were driven back; then they began to run, and finally 



246 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




General Thomas J. Jackson 



they broke into a disorderly panic and rout, many of 
them not stopping until they were safe in Washington 
City. 

At one time in the battle General Thomas J. Jack- 



STONEWALL JACKSON 247 

son had rallied his troops on a hill and was being 
fiercely attacked. An officer cried out, ^^ General, they 
are beating us back!" '^Then, sir/' said stonewaii 
Jackson, ''we will give them the bayonet." Jackson 
Jackson and his men stood firm. Another Confeder- 
ate officer pointing to him called out to his own troops, 
''There stands Jackson like a stone wall!" From that 
time Jackson was known as Stonewall Jackson. 

Jackson had been reared on a farm in Virginia, and 
educated at the Military Academy at West Point. He 
was very religious, teaching in the Sunday school, and 
often gathering the slave children about him to read 
the Bible to them. He never smoked, drank intoxi- 
cating liquors, or used profane language. It was his 
custom to pray long and earnestly before a battle was 
to be fought. 

Jackson was one of the greatest soldiers of the war. 
He was a military genius who inspired his troops with 
deep affection and confidence. If Jackson ^hevaiie 
was in command they felt sure of victory, campaign, 

1862 

At one time during the war when the north- 
ern army was pressing on Richmond, Jackson with 
fifteen thousand men made a remarkable campaign in 
the Shenandoah valley. He marched his little army 
over four hundred miles in forty days, defeated four 
armies in succession sent against him, came so near 
Washington as to throw that city into the greatest 



248 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

alarm, and captured and killed seven thousand of the 
enemy^s forces. This is known as Jackson's Valley 
Campaign, and is considered one of the greatest feats 
in military history. 

After the war had been in progress for two years, at 
the battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson had ridden out 
Death of in frout of his own troops to reconnoiter the 
Jackson position of the enemy. When he returned it 
was nearly dark. His own men, thinking Jackson's 
party to be a body of northern calvary, fired upon 
them. Jackson fell from his horse mortally wounded. 
He died in a few days saying, ^^Let us cross over the 
river and rest under the shade of the trees.'' When 
Lee heard that Jackson was dead he wept and said, ^'I 
have indeed lost my right arm." 

QUESTIONS 

How did the Civil War begin? What did Fort Sumter hold? 
What had arrived? What did President Davis consider an act 
of hostility? What then happened? What became of Fort 
Sumter? What preparations were made for war? What was 
one of the main objects of the North? Where was the first 
great battle of the war fought? What was it called? What 
was the result? How did Jackson get the name of Stonewall? 
What can you say of the early life of Jackson? What were 
some of his habits? What can you say of him as a soldier? 
Describe the incidents of the Valley Campaign. How was 
Jackson accidentally killed? 



ROBERT E. LEE 



249 



LESSON 69 
ROBERT E. LEE 

The year after the battle of Manassas the northern 
army, under the command of General George B. 
McClellan, attempted to capture 
Richmond in the campaign known 
as the Peninsular Campaign. 
McClellan came within ten miles 
of Richmond — near enough to 
see the smoke from the chimneys 
— but in a series of battles lasting 
a week he was compelled to aban- 
don his purpose. 

While this campaign was in 
progress, Robert E. Lee was made 
commander-in-chief of the Con- 
federate army. It is conceded 
General Rob- that he was the greatest general of the war. 
ert E.Lee jj^ ]^^^ heeu trained as a soldier at the 
Military Academy at West Point. He had served 
in the Mexican War as an engineer, building bridges, 
laying out roads, and constructing forts. When the 
war came on he was a colonel in the United States 
army, and said he would give a million slaves, if he 
had them, to save the Union, but that he could not 
draw his sword against Virginia, his native state. 




General George B. 
McClellan 



250 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



When Lee took command of the southern army he 
showed his military genius by using his smaller forces 
T> . . .V- to hold in check the great armies sent against 

Defeats the ^ i r« i • i 

northern him. General John Pope was defeated m the 
second battle of Manassas, and Lee invaded 
Maryland. A great battle was fought near Sharps- 
burg, on Antietam Creek, which was so undecided that 




The Armory, West Point 

Lee returned to Virginia. General A. E. Burnside 
was next sent out with an army which Lee completely 
routed at Fredericksburg. General Joseph Hooker 
likewise met defeat at the battle of Chancellorsville. 
Lee had proved himself more than a match for the 
northern generals. 



ROBERT E. LEE 



251 




General Robert E 



After the war had been going on for two years 
the great battle of Gettysburg was fought. It ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ 
was the greatest battle of the Civil War, GeuyBbu^^^^ 
and was the turning point of the fortunes of 
the southern army in the East. The battle was fought 



252 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

three days in succession. On the last day occurred 
the famous charge of General Pickett against the 
northern breastworks. The southern troops — vet- 
erans by this time — moved across a valley a mile 
wide, charged a hill where the enemy was established, 
and with desperate courage tried to capture their guns. 
The slaughter of men was dreadful. The roar of can- 
non, the rattle of musketry, the smoke of battle, and 
the cries of wounded men made a scene long to be 
remembered. 

In spite of these heroic efforts the Confederate 
troops were defeated, and Lee retired across the Poto- 
sufferin of ^^^ ^^^^ Virginia. The army was worn out 
the southern with much fighting. There were no more 
^^^^ troops to take the places of the dead. Nearly 

every man in the South who could bear arms had been 
enlisted for the war. Supplies of all kinds were scarce. 
The soldiers were poorly paid and badly clothed. 
From this time it was a question of wearing out in 
face of a great army whose ranks could easily be filled, 
and who were supplied with everything needed for 
successful warfare. 

The northern war vessels blockaded the southern 
ports, so that no supplies could be brought from 
foreign countries. This brought on a scarcity of medi- 
cine, salt, ammunition, guns, and army supplies. The 
southern people bravely endured their hardships. 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 253 

The women knitted socks for the soldiers, cut up their 
curtains, and wove their carpets into suppHes for the 
army. 

QUESTIONS 

What attempt did McClellan make and what was the name 
of the campaign? How near to Richmond did McClellan come? 
What was he compelled to do? Who was made commander-in- 
chief of the southern army? Where was Lee trained to be a 
soldier? What service had he seen? What position did he 
hold in the United States army when the war came on? What 
had he said? How did he show his genius? In what battle 
was Pope defeated? What was the result of the battle of 
Antietam? Where was Burnside defeated? Where did Hooker 
meet defeat? What was the greatest battle of the war? De- 
scribe the charge of General Pickett. What was Lee com- 
pelled to do? What was the condition of his army by this 
time? What had the northern war vessels done? What did 
this bring about? How did the southern women show their 
devotion to the cause? 



LESSON 70 
ULYSSES S. GRANT 

The war plan of the North was first to capture 
Richmond and drive the Confederates out of Virginia; 
second, to get control of the Mississippi River; third, 
to march an army through the heart of the South and 
completely enfold the Confederacy within the toils of 
two great armies. 

Accordingly, while the war was going on in Virginia, 



254 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 







as we have seen, a campaign was also in progress in 
the West. Early in the war the northern army cap- 
tured Fort Henry 
on the Tennessee 

xilVer, and campaigns 

Fort Don- i^t^^^west 
elson on the Cum- 
berland River. 
Thus Kentucky and 
Tennessee fell into 
the hands of the 
northern army. 
Then followed the 
great battle of 
Shiloh on the line 
between Mississippi 
and Tennessee in 
which the Confeder- 
ate general, Albert 
Sidney Johnston, 
was killed, and the southern army was driven back 
into Mississippi. Shortly afterwards New Orleans was 
captured by a northern fleet under command of Admiral 
Farragut. Later on Farragut entered Mobile Bay and 
closed that port. In a campaign of a few months the 
northern army had gained control of the Mississippi 
with the exception of Port Hudson and Vicksburg. 




General Albert Sidney Johnston 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 



255 




Farragut in Mobile Bay 



General Ulysses S. Grant was placed in command of 
the Union forces in the West. He set vigorously to 
work to besiege Vicksburg. The city was 

1 1 1 1 -1 1 11 .11 Surrender of 

bombarded with shells until the terrified in- vicksburg, 
habitants were driven to caves in the hill- ^''^^' ^^^^ 
sides and into the cellars of houses for protection. 
Food gave out and starvation drove the people to eat- 
ing mule meat at a dollar a pound. Finally Vicks- 
burg surrendered on the day that Lee began his re- 
treat from Gettysburg. 



256 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




CiKNEKAL Ulysses S. Grant 

The surrender of Vicksburg was the turning point of 
the war in the West. The Mississippi was now en- 
tirely under control of the North, and all supplies 
from the West were completely cut off from the 
Southern army. 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 257 

General Grant was from this time the greatest gen- 
eral of the northern army. He had been a student at 
West Point, and while there was known as General 
the best horseman in his class. He stood well ^•^- ^"^^"^ 
in mathematics. He served in the Mexican War and 
was mentioned in the reports as behaving ^^with dis- 
tinguished gallantry." After the Mexican War Grant 
engaged in farming, but without success. He tried 
the real estate business, but that also was a failure. 
Shortly before the opening of the Civil War he took a 
position as clerk in a leather store in Illinois. When 
President Lincoln called for volunteers Grant offered 
his services and entered upon his great career as a 
soldier. 

Grant was made commander-in-chief of the north- 
ern army and took active charge of the campaign in 
Virginia. Here he faced Lee in many hard- ^ 

^ -^ Grant and 

fought battles. With an army of 120,000 Leemvir- 
men he forced Lee back in spite of the loss of ^^"^^ 
thousands of men. He said he ''intended to fight it 
out on this line if it took all summer." General Lee's 
army grew smaller and weaker, and Grant's troops 
pressed him nearer and nearer to Richmond. The 
end of the war was not far off. In the meantime the 
third part of the war plan of the North was being 
carried out in the South, of which we shall study in 
the next lesson. 



258 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

QUESTIONS 

What were the purposes of the war plan of the North? 
What forts had been captured in the West? What states fell 
into the hands of the North? What great battle was fought on 
the line of Tennessee and Mississippi? What general was 
killed in this battle? Who was placed in command of the 
Union forces in the West? Describe the siege and surrender of 
Vicksburg. What can you say of the surrender of Vicksburg? 
What can you say of General Grant? Where was he educated? 
In what war had he served? In what business had he engaged? 
What was he doing when the war opened? What was he made 
after the surrender of Vicksburg? What campaign did he take 
charge of? What did he force Lee to do? What did Grant say 
of his plan? 

LESSON 71 
THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR 

We are now to see how the Civil War was brought to 
a close. After the surrender of Vicksburg the northern 
army marched across Tennessee. The southern army 
retired to Chattanooga. At Chickamauga a desperate 
battle was fought, after which the southern army with- 
drew into Georgia. General William T. Sherman took 
command of the northern army in the West. General 
Grant, in Virginia, directed him to march into Georgia 
and capture Atlanta. 

With an army of a hundred thousand men he 
started on his campaign through the Confederacy, 



THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR 



259 



carrying out the third part of the war plan of the North. 
Sherman was opposed by Joseph E. Johnston, the Con- 
federate general. From Chatta- 
nooga to Atlanta there was 
Sherman fighting Constantly for 
captures two months. At last 
September, Sherman reached At- 
^^^^ lanta, captured that 

city, and almost destroyed it by 
fire. 

In the meantime General Hood 
had succeeded Johnston in com- 
mand of the southern army. 




Gen. Wm. T. Sherman 



Hood took his forces into Tennessee, 
where his army was broken in pieces 
in the battles around The march 
Nashville. This left Sher- ''''''''^ 
man without opposition to continue 
his ^^ march to the sea.'' With an 
army of sixty thousand men he 
started for Savannah, his troops 
living on the country as they 
moved. They tore up the railroads 
in their path, burning the ties and 
wrapping the heated rails around 
the trunks of trees. They burned gin houses and cot- 
ton crops, killed cows, hogs, sheep, and, in fact, made 



_p^ 


V -^ 


■^ 


% 


^^HHmL«^% 




[^^ 


^ 


t^^^HJU^^H 


i 



Gen. Jos. E. Johnston 



260 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



a track of desolation forty miles wide through the 
heart of Georgia. 

Savannah was captured ^ and Sherman turned north- 
ward, marching through South Carolina and North 
Carolina on his way to unite his forces with Grant in 




Sherman Marching Through Georgia 

Virginia. The city of Columbia in South Carolina 
was burned by drunken soldiers and ^^ bummers" who 
followed the army in great numbers. 

In the meantime General Grant had forced General 
Lee back upon Richmond. The southern army was 
reduced to a mere handful of ragged and starved 
men, and Richmond could not be defended longer. 



THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR 261 

Lee's lines were broken, and President Davis and 
his Cabinet left Richmond. It was useless to con- 
tinue the struggle. Grant and Lee met by Thesurren- 
appointment at a farmhouse near Appo- ^^r of Gen- 
mattox Court House and agreed on terms of April 9,' 
surrender. Lee's soldiers laid down their 
arms and agreed not to take them up again during 
the war. 

General Grant was a generous and manly foe. He 
ordered the Confederate soldiers to be supplied with 
food from his own stores, and gave each man his horse 
or mule to take home with him to use in the ^^ spring 
plowing." When his own soldiers desired to fire a 
salute in honor of the surrender he stopped them, say- 
ing it was not right to exult in the downfall of an 
enemy. 

After a few weeks all the southern armies surren- 
dered, and the great war was over. The soldiers on 
both sides returned to their homes and engaged in 
peaceful pursuits. Everybody was glad that the 
struggle was ended and the killing of brave men 
would go on no longer. The war had cost vast sums 
of money, at one time rising on the northern side to 
three million dollars a day. Over six hundred thou- 
sand men had been killed in battle or had died of 
wounds and disease in hospitals. 

The war settled the question of secession. Our 



262 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

country is to be an unbroken Union of states. We 
shall remain one nation, under one government, and 
What the be a united people henceforth. The war 
war settled ^^so Settled the qucstiou of slavery. The 
negroes are free. They have taken their places as 
citizens of our common country, and are gradually 
coming to an understanding of their opportunities 
and responsibilities. 

QUESTIONS 

What were the movements of both armies after the fall of 
Vicksburg? Where was a desperate battle fought? What did 
Sherman undertake? Who opposed him? What city did he 
capture? What became of Hood? Describe the march to the 
sea. What can you say of Sherman's further movements? 
What was going on in Virginia? What was the condition of the 
southern army? What did Grant and Lee do? What did 
Lee's men do? What did Grant order to be done? What can 
you say of the cost of the war? How many men had been lost? 
What two questions were settled by the war? 



A REUNITED PEOPLE 



LESSON 72 
AFTER THE WAR 

Now that the war was over the general government 
set about reconstructing the Southern States. Each 
state before it was allowed to reenter the 
Union was required to adopt certain amend- tionofthe' 
ments to the Constitution. The thirteenth It^tes'''' 
amendment abolished slavery in all the states 
and territories. The fourteenth amendment made the 
negroes citizens and gave them the protection of the law. 
The fifteenth amendment gave the negroes the right to 
vote. It was several years before all the Southern 
States adopted these amendments, but finally they all 
agreed to them, and the Union of the states was 
restored. 

The era of reconstruction of the South was a sad 
one. The states that were out of the Union were 
placed under military rule, and many of the Carpet- 
best white people in the South were not ijaggersin 
allowed to vote or hold office. Adventurers 
called '^carpet-baggers^' flocked into the South, de- 
ceived the negroes with all kinds of promises, and 

263 



264 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

aided worthless and dishonest persons to secure office. 
Even the negroes, who a few years before were work- 
ing in the fields, were made judges and members of 
the legislature. 

To protect themselves against evil white men and 
negroes there was organized in the South a secret 
society known as the Ku-Klux Klan. When the Ku~ 
Klux rode the members were masked, and spread ter- 
ror among the negroes. The fear of this society held 
the vicious negroes in check, and drove many evil- 
doers out of the South. 

While this condition of things lasted a bitter quarrel 
was going on between Andrew Johnson, President of 
Impeach- ^^^ United States, and Congress. President 
mentof Johusou and Congress had very different 

President ^ . i o. i 

Johnson, ideas about reconstructing the Southern 
^^^^ States. The quarrel finally led to the im- 

peachment of the President and his trial by the 
Senate. It was the first time in the history of our 
country that a President had been impeached, and the 
trial, which lasted two months, excited deep interest. 
On the day the votes were counted it was found that 
Johnson, by a majority of one vote, was declared not 
guilty. 

After the Southern States had been restored to the 
Union, the people of the South set bravely to work to 
build up their wasted fortunes. Before many years the 



AFTER THE WAR 



265 




Picking Cotton 



cotton crop was more than double what it was before 
the war. The South now produces from ten to twelve 
million bales of cotton each year, — about Progress of 
three-fourths of the cotton crop of the world. ^^' ^'^^^ 
Before the war there were few, if any, cotton mills in 
the South. To-day there are many hundreds of such 
mills and every year adds to their number. 

In addition to raising cotton, the people of the 
South are turning their attention to the cultivation of 
fruits and vegetables, and the fruit crop is becoming a 
rival of the cotton crop. The coal and iron industry 
is being rapidly developed in Alabama and Tennessee; 



266 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

the oil mills of Texas and Louisiana are pouring out 
millions of barrels of oil; the great forest areas of pine 
and hardwood are engaging the sawmill and the lumber 
dealer, until the South has now more than regained its 
losses by war, and is again a prosperous section of our 
common country. 

QUESTIONS 

What did the general government now do? What was each 
state required to do before it could reenter the Union? What 
was the thirteenth amendment? The fourteenth? The fif- 
teenth? What was the condition in the South at this time? 
What can you say of the '' carpet-baggers " and the negroes? 
What was the purpose of the Ku-Klux Klan? What quarrel 
was going on at this time? Describe the impeachment of the 
President. What was the result? What did the southern 
people do after the war? What can you say of the cotton 
crop? Of cotton mills? What other industries engage the 
attention of the South? What can you say of coal and iron? 
Of oil mills? Of the forest woods? What has the South done? 



LESSON 73 
PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY 

Our country has made great progress since the close 
of the Civil War. While Andrew Johnson was Presi- 
_. , dent the territory of Alaska was purchased 

XJ16 pixircJiaSO 

of Alaska, from Russia for $7,200,000. It was not con- 

1867 

sidered a bargain at the time, but its seal 
fisheries and gold mines have made it a very valuable 
addition to our country. 



PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY 



267 



Our western states and cities have grown wonder- 
fully in population and wealth. Chicago, which began 
as a frontier fort and remained for ten years The growth 
a small town, has grown into a great city of o^*^®^®^* 
over two million inhabitants. Many places that were 
mining camps fifty years ago are now large and flour- 








Baling Hay on a Western Farm 



ishing cities. At one time the mail was carried across 
the prairies by the ^^pony express/' and passengers 
went by stagecoach, but since the building of the great 
Pacific Railroads hundreds of thousands of passengers 
travel to the West with every comfort. Vast fields of 
wheat and corn are planted; great herds of cattle, 



268 



FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



sheep, and hogs are raised on the ranches, and the 
regions that were once the homes of the Indians and 
the range of the buffalo are now the abode of a pros- 
perous people. 

Inventions have kept pace with our industries. We 
have already seen that America contributed the cot- 
ton ffin, the steamboat, and the electric tele- 

Inventions i i t i t • 

graph to human progress. In addition to 
these we might mention the iron- clad war vessel in- 
vented by Ericsson, the reaper and harvester invented 
by McCormick, the sewing machine invented by Howe, 
the sleeping car invented by Pullman, as well as such 
inventions as the revolving printing press, the type- 
writer, and hundreds of others. 
There are by this time nearly 
a million patents for inventions 
and improvements issued by the 
Patent Office in Washington to 
the inventors of our country. 

Thomas A. Edison is probably 
the greatest of all living inven- 
tors. It is to him we Thomas a. 

owe the electric light, ^^^'"^ 
the phonograph, the moving- 
picture machine, and many other 
electrical and mechanical inventions. He has been a 
tireless worker. It is said that at one time he worked 




Thomas A. Edison 



PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY 269 

sixty hours on an invention without rest of any kind. 
Often he has worked all night on a hard problem. 
Once he said that he owed his success to the fact 
that he ''never looked at the clock." He has a splen- 
did laboratory at Menlo Park in which he has done 
so many wonderful things that people have come to 
call him ''the wizard of Menlo Park." 

Another great American invention is the telephone. 
It was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. He 
was a teacher of the deaf and dumb, and The 
while experimenting with the vibration of t«i«P^°^« 
sound he unexpectedly discovered how sound could be 
reproduced by electricity at the end of a long wire. 
His first instrument was used to reproduce in the attic 
of his house musical notes made in the cellar. The 
telephone was first exhibited at the Centennial Exhibi- 
tion in Philadelphia, where it attracted much atten- 
tion. Improvements were rapidly made, and the tele- 
phone is now widely used in the homes and business 
houses of the people. Our large cities are connected 
by long-distance telephones, so that one can talk with 
his friends hundreds of miles away in distant parts of 
the country. 

QUESTIONS 

What can you say of the purchase of Alaska? What have 
our western states shown? What can you say of Chicago? of 
other cities? How were mail and passengers once carried across 
the prairies? What did the Pacific Railroad do for the West? 



270 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

What can you say of the industries of the West? What 
American inventions can you mention? How many patents 
have been issued? What can you say of Edison? What has he 
invented? What can you say of Edison as a worker? To 
what did he say he owed his success? What name have people 
given him? Who invented the telephone? In what way was 
it invented? What was the first instrument used for? Where 
was it first exhibited? What can you say of the use of the 
telephone to-day? 



LESSON 74 
THE WAR WITH SPAIN 

General Grant succeeded Andrew Johnson as 
President. It was during his term of office that the 
great fire occurred in Chicago, destroying a large por- 
tion of that city, and that the Centennial Exposition 
was held at Philadelphia, celebrating the one hundredth 
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 

Grant was succeeded by Rutherford B. Hayes. 
Then followed James A. Garfield, who was assassi- 
nated by a disappointed office-seeker. Chester A. 
Arthur, the Vice-President, became President. After 
Arthur came Grover Cleveland, who was followed by 
Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland was elected a second 
time, and then Wilham McKinley became President. 

While McKinley was President the war with Spain 
occurred. The island of Cuba was a Spanish posses- 



THE WAR WITH SPAIN 



271 




Grover Cleveland 



sion and was in rebelMon against the hard rule of 
Spain. One of our battleships, the Maine, Destruction of 
lying in the harbor of Havana was blown up ^^ebru^ry^is' 
by an explosion, and nearly three hundred ^^^^ 
of the crew were lost. It was a terrible disaster, and 



272 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




William McKinley 



many persons thought it had been caused by the 
Spanish. In a short while the sympathy of the people 
for the Cubans, as well as the indignation over the 
destruction of the Maine, demanded some action on 
the part of our government. 

Congress passed a resolution authorizing the Presi- 
dent to use the army and navy of the United States 
to compel Spain to give up her authority in Cuba. 



THE WAR WITH SPAIN 273 

This was the same as a declaration of war, and Presi- 
dent McKinley called for a hundred and twenty-five 
thousand soldiers to volunteer for the service. 

Commodore George Dewey was ordered to attack 
Manila, the capital of the Philippine Islands, then a 
Spanish possession. Sailing into the Bay of 
Manila at night he slipped past the shore bat- jyTaniia Bay, 
teries of the enemy, and at daybreak began flgg^^^' 
an attack upon the Spanish fleet. The sol- 
diers and sailors raised the cry, ''Remember the 
Maine !'^ The battle lasted for two hours and then 
the American vessels drew off for breakfast and for a 
short rest. In a few hours the battle was renewed, 
and after an hour the ships of the enemy were com- 
pletely destroyed, or were at the mercy of Dewey and 
his fleet. Not an American ship was lost, nor was a 
single American soldier killed in the battle. Manila 
then fell into the hands of Commodore Dewey and the 
war in the East was ended. 

In the meanwhile an American fleet under Captain 
Sampson and Commodore Schley (Sly) were blocking 
the harbor of Santiago (San-tf-a^go) de Cuba. Lieutenant 
Inside was the Spanish fleet, commanded by ^°^'°'' 
Admiral Cervera (Thar-va'ra), seeking for a chance 
to escape. In order to obstruct the harbor Lieuten- 
ant Hobson, of Alabama, with a few companions, 
sank a coal ship in the channel. It was a daring deed, 



274 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

especially as the men were in the full face of the 
enemy's guns. Hobson and his crew escaped to the 
Spanish vessels and surrendered as prisoners of war. 

An army was now landed near Santiago, and the 
capture of the city was undertaken. After several 

battles General Shafter, the American gen- 
o/cervera's eral, captured the heights overlooking San- 
fleet, July 3, i^ia^gQ^ f j.Qni which he could easily shell the 

city and the ships in the harbor. Seeing 
his danger, Admiral Cervera made a dash for liberty. 
His vessels, however, were easily overtaken and de- 
stroyed by the American fleet and he himself was 
made prisoner. Santiago surrendered and the war 
ended. 

By the treaty with Spain we came into possession of 
the Philippine Islands, Porto Rico, and the island of 
End of the Guam (Gwam) in the Pacific Ocean, and 
^*' agreed to pay Spain twenty million dollars. 

Cuba was declared free and independent, and the 
Spanish rule in the West Indies came to an end. 

QUESTIONS 

Mention two events in the administration of Grant. Name 
the Presidents that succeeded Grant. Who was President 
during the war with Spain? What can you say of Cuba? 
What happened to the Maine? What did many persons think? 
What was demanded by the people? What did Congress 
authorize? What did McKinley do? Describe the way in 



RECENT EVENTS 275 

which Commodore Dewey captured Manila. What harbor in 
Cuba was blockaded, and by whom? What was the exploit of 
Hobson? What heights did General Shafter capture? What 
did Cervera do and with what result? What did we gain by 
the treaty with Spain? What did we pay Spain? What did 
Cuba become? 



LESSON 75 
RECENT EVENTS 



Soon after the close of the war with Spain President 
McKinley was assassinated while attending an expo- 
sition at Buffalo. After lingering a week he Treaty of 
died, the third martyr President, and was ^°'t«°^o^t^ 
succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt (RosVelt), the 
Vice-President. During Roosevelt's administration 
occurred a great war between Russia and Japan, which 
lasted many months and in which many bloody 
battles were fought. President Roosevelt offered his 
services as peacemaker between the two countries. 
Representatives of Russia and Japan met at Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, and signed a treaty of 
peace. 

After President Roosevelt had served the unexpired 
term of McKinley, he was elected for a term of four 
years. He was succeeded by William H. Taft, who 
was inaugurated in 1909, with the good will and 
regard of all people from all sections. 



276 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Theodore Roosevelt 



The greatest enterprise of modern times is the build- 
ing of the Panama Canal, which was undertaken by 
The Panama the United States in 1902 and is now in 
Canal progress. It will cost several hundred mil- 

lions of dollars, but will be a great saving of time and 



RECENT EVENTS 



277 




William H. Taft 



expense to vessels going from the Atlantic Ocean to the 
Pacific Ocean. Ships going from New York to San 
Francisco will save over seven thousand miles, which 
is much more than half the distance. 



278 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

In the digging of the canal great care has been used 
to construct barracks for the workmen that will pro- 
tect them from malaria and other diseases. By proper 
sanitary arrangements the death rate in the canal 
zone has been greatly reduced and the comfort of the 
laborers much increased. 




Barracks for the Laborers upon the Panama Canal 

Our country has grown from thirteen to forty- 
six states; from four millions of people, after the 
Revolution, we have grown to probably a hundred 



RECENT EVENTS 



279 



%-tV ^^&>> 


- j6}_«WJ»JW 


■iHlL«^^ 


H^^^^,' ''^^^^imu~-. 


^4 Co^tr^.k>» fts^-^^^^^^K^^^^^^^^^^^mj^^ 


sjmSISH^S 



Excavating the Panama Canal 



millions, counting the inhabitants of our territories 
and island possessions. In area the United States is 
nearly as large as all Europe. We have single states 
that are larger than some of the countries of the old 
world. 

We have now reached the conclusion of the history 
of our country. There are many things more to be 
learned in larger books, and still more im- inspiration 
portant lessons about government and busi- ^^^"^^"tory 
ness and industries to be learned in life itself; but the 
story of what our forefathers did in coming to these 
shores, the sufferings they endured, the trials and 
hardships they encountered, the wars through which 
they passed, and the final triumph they gained should 



280 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

inspire us with a great desire to know more about 
them, and to take our part in carrying on the great 
government they planned and the great nation they 
founded. 

QUESTIONS 

What happened to President McKinley shortly after the 
war with Spain? Who succeeded him as President? What 
service did Roosevelt perform as peacemaker? Who suc- 
ceeded Roosevelt as President? What is the greatest enter- 
prise of modern times? Of what advantage will the Panama 
Canal be to commerce? What is the present number of states? 
What is the present population? Compare the area of the United 
States with that of Europe. What can you say of our study of 
history? What desire should each of us have? 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 



When and where was Columbus born? Who aided him in his 
desire to sail around the world? For what was he seeking? Where 
did he land? How did the Indians get their name? How many 
voyages did Columbus make? How did America get its name? 
What Spaniard first saw the waters of the Pacific Ocean? What 
explorer named the Pacific Ocean, and what was he trying to do? 
What explorer named Florida and for what was he seeking? What 
was the fate of Narvaez? Who discovered the Mississippi River? 
Who explored the plains of the West? 

Who founded the lost colony of Roanoke? Where was the first 
permanent English colony m America established? Who was the 
hero of Jamestown? Relate the story of John Smith and Poca- 
hontas. What was the starving time? Where and how was slavery 
introduced into America? How were the colonists at Jamestown 
suppHed with wives? What young lawyer rebelled against the 
tyranny of Berkeley? Who settled Plymouth? Who was the hero 
of the Plymouth Colony? What can you say of Samoset? Of 
Squanto? Of Canonicus? 

What can you say of Roger Williams? Of Mrs. Anne Hutchin- 
son? Of Thomas Hooker? Who was John Eliot? What was the 
late of King Philip? Who discovered the Hudson River? Who 
settled New York? What can you say of Peter Stuyvesant? Who 
settled Maryland? Who was William Penn? How did Penn ac- 
quire a grant in America? Describe Penn's treaty with the 
Indians. What philosopher drew up a plan of government for 

281 



282 REVIEW QUESTIONS 

the Carolinas? Who settled Georgia? What can you say. of 
Oglethorpe? 

What Frenchman explored the Mississippi? By whom was the 
claim of France to the Mississippi Valley made? What young sol- 
dier took a message to the French in the Ohio Valley? Describe 
the journey of this messenger. How was Braddock defeated? 
Who captured Quebec and by what strategy? Describe the set- 
tlers' cabins. How was Sunday observed in the colonies? Describe 
the pillory and the stocks. What can you say of the witchcraft 
craze? Describe a journey by stagecoach. Tell why slavery took 
such a strong hold in the Southern colonies. 

What were some of the causes of the Revolution? What great 
orator made a speech in Virginia against the Stamp Act? Describe 
the Boston Massacre. What can you say of Samuel Adams? De- 
scribe the Boston Tea Party. Describe Paul Revere's Ride. What 
was the result of the battle of Lexington? Who was made com- 
mander-in-chief of the American army? What was the result of 
the battle of Bunker Hill? Who wrote the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence? Describe the victory at Trenton. What can you say 
of the sufferings at Valley Forge? What can you say of Lafayette? 
Describe the exploits of Francis Marion; of Thomas Sumter. De- 
scribe the battle of King's Mountain. Where did CornwalHs sur- 
render? 

Relate some incident in the life of Benjamin Franklin. Who 
settled Kentucky? Relate some incident in the life of Daniel 
Boone. What adventures did George Rogers Clark have? What 
places did he capture? What territory did Robertson and Sevier 
explore and settle? What can you say of Sevier? 

Who was the first President of the United States? What cities 
have been the capital of the United States? Who invented the 
cotton gin? What political party was founded by Thomas Jeffer- 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 283 

son? Who punished the pirates of the Barbary States? By whom 
was the Louisiana territory purchased? By what two young men 
was it explored? Who perfected the steamboat? What was the 
first steamship to cross the ocean? What was the cause of the War 
of 1812? What was the most famous battle of this war? Who was 
the hero of the battle of New Orleans? 

What is the Monroe Doctrine? What waters does the Erie Canal 
connect? What can you say of the locomotive "The Best Friend"? 
Who was called the Mill Boy of the Slashes? What was the Mis- 
souri Compromise? What name was given Henry Clay and why? 
Between what two senators occurred a great debate on the tariff? 
What state passed an ordinance of nullification? Who invented 
the telegraph? Between what two cities was the first telegraph 
line built? What was the first message? Describe the massacre 
at the Alamo. At what battle was the independence of Mexico 
assured? What territory did we acquire by the treaty with Mexico? 
How was gold discovered in California? 

Upon what question did the Northern and Southern states differ? 
What was the John Brown raid? Who was President of the United 
States during the Civil War? How did Stonewall Jackson get his 
name? What can you say of the " Valley Campaign "? What were 
the circumstances of the death of Stonewall Jackson? Who was 
the commander-in-chief of the Southern army? Who became com- 
mander-in-chief of the Northern army? What were the three 
parts of the war plan of the North? Describe Sherman's march 
to the sea. Describe the surrender of Lee. 

What three amendments to the Constitution were made after 
the war? What did each require? What can you say of the Recon- 
struction Era in the South? Describe the Ku-Klux Klan. Which 
President was impeached and why? For how much was Alaska 
purchased, and from what country? Name some American inven- 



284 REVIEW QUESTIONS 

tions. Tell something about Thos. A. Edison. Who invented the 
telephone? What caused the war with Spain? Who won the battle 
of Manila Bay? What became of the Spanish fleet in the harbor 
of Santiago? Describe the exploit of Hobson. What did we 
acquire by the treaty with Spain? What can you say of the 
Panama Canal? 



« 



LIST OF PRESIDENTS. 



PRESIDENT 



1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 



George Washington . 

John Adams 

Thomas Jefferson . . . 

James Madison 

James Monroe 

John Quincy Adams 
Andrew Jackson .... 
Martin Van Buren . . 
WiUiam H. Harrison 

John Tyler 

James K. Polk 

Zaehary Taylor 

Millard Fillmore. . . . 

Franklin Pierce 

James Buchanan. . . . 
Abraham Lincoln . . . 

Andrew Johnson 

Ulysses S. Grant . . . 
Rutherford B. Hayes 
James A. Garfield. . . 
Chester A. Arthur . . 
Grover Cleveland . . . 
Benjamin Harrison . 
Grover Cleveland . . . 
WiUiam McKinley . . 
Theodore Roosevelt 
William H. Taft .... 



Virginia 

Massachusetts . . 

Virginia 

Virginia 

Virginia 

Massachusetts. . 

Tennessee 

New York 

Ohio 

Virginia 

Tennessee 

Louisiana 

New York 

New Hampshire 
Pennsylvania . . 

Illinois 

Tennessee 

Illinois 

Ohio 

Ohio 

New York 

New York 

Indiana 

New York 

Ohio 

New York 

Ohio 



Feb. 22 
Oct. 30 
April 13 
Mar. 16 
April 28 
July 11 
Mar. 15 
Dec. 5 
Feb. 9 
Mar. 29 
Nov. 2 
Sept. 24 
Feb. 7 
Nov. 23 
April 22 
Feb. 12 
Dec. 29 
April 27 
Oct. 4 
Nov. 19 
Oct. 5 
Mar. 18 
Aug. 20 
Mar. 18 
Jan. 29 
Oct. 27 
Sept. 15 



1732 
1735 
1743 
1751 

1758 
1767 
1767 
1782 
1773 
1770 
1795 
1784 
1800 
1804 
1791 
1809 
1808 
1822 
1822 
1831 
1830 
1837 
1833 
1837 
1843 
1858 
1857 



Dec. 

July 

July 

June 

July 

Feb. 

June 

July 

April 

Jan. 

June 

July 

Mar. 

Oct. 

June 

April 

July 

July 

Jan. 

Sept. 

Nov. 

June 

Mar. 

June 

Sept. 



14, 1799 
4, 1826 
4, 1826 

28, 1836 
4, 1831 

23, 1848 

8, 1845 

24, 1862 
4, 1841 

18, 1862 

15, 1849 

9, 1850 
8, 1874 
8, 1869 
1, 1868 

15, 1865 
31, 1875 

23, 1885 

17, 1893 

19, 1887 

18, 1886 

24. 1908 

13, 1901 
24, 1908 

14, 1901 



285 



INDEX 



Abraham, Plains of, 107. 

Adams, John Quincy, 201. 

Adams, Samuel, 125-128. 

Airships, 206. 

A^labama, De Soto in, 29. 

Alamo, capture of, 228. 

Alaska purchased, 2GG. 

Albemarle Sound, 79. 

Alexander, 61. 

Allegheny River, 100. 

Amendments to Constitution, 263. 

America named, 17. 

Annapolis, 72. 

Antietam (Sharpsburg), battle of, 250. 

Apostle to Indians, 59. 

Appomattox Court House, 261. 

Arizona crossed by Coronado, 31. 

Arkansas River, 93. 

Arthur, Chester A., 270. 

Atlanta captured, 259. 

Atlantic Cable, 224. 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 47. 
Bahamas, The, 11. 
Balboa, 18, 19, 20. 
Baltimore, Lord, 70. 
Baltimore founded, 72. 
Barbary pirates, 180. 
Battle of: 

Antietam (Sharpsburg), 250. 

Bloody Marsh, 87. 88. 

Braddock's Defeat, 104. 

Brandywine, 145. 

Bunker Hill, 135. 

Chancellors ville, 248, 250. 

Chickamauga, 258. 

Fredericksburg, 250. 

Gettysburg, 251, 252. 

Great Meadows, 101. 

Horseshoe Bend, 198, 225. 

King's Mountain, 150. 

Lake Erie, 195. 

Lexington, 129-133. 

Maoassas, 245, 250. 



Battle of : 

Manik Bay, 273. 

New Orleans, 199. 

Princeton, 144. 

San Jacinto, 228. 

Saratoga, 145. 

Shiloh. 254. 

Trenton, 143. 
Bell, Alexander Graham, 269. 
Berkeley, William, 47. 
" Best Friend," 202. 
Bible, Eliot's, GO. 
Bienville, 98. 
Biloxi Bay, 97. 
Blockade, 252. 
Blockhouse forts, 59. 
Bloody Marsh, battle of, 87, 5 
Boone, Daniel, 157. 

in Kentucky, 158. 

exploits of, 159, KiO. 
Boonesborough founded, 157. 
Boston, 

founded, 54. 

Massacre, 126. 

Tea Party, 128. 

army around, 133. 

evacuated, 137. 
Braddock, General, 102-104. 
Brandywine, battle of, 145. 
Brazil, Vespuccius in, 17. 
Brown, John, 236. 
Bull Run, battle of, 245. 
Burgoyne, General. 144. 
Burnside, Gen. A. E., 250. 

Cabeza de Vaca, 26. 
Cabins, settlers', 110. 
Cable, Atlantic, 224. 
Cabot, John, 16, 68. 

Sebastian, 16. 
California, gold in, 232. 
Calhoun, John C, 216-220. 

Nullification advice, 218. 
Calvert, George, 70. 



287 



288 



INDEX 



Calvert, 

Cecil, 71. 

Leonard, 71. 
Canal, Erie, 201. 

Panama, 276, 278. 
Canary Islands, the, 8. 
Canonicus, 53. 
Cape Fear River, 79. 
Capital of United States, 172. 
Carolina, colonies in, 79-82. 
Carpet baggers, 263. 
Carver, John, 51, 52. 
Catholic, Roman, 70. 

mission, 91. 
Centennial Exposition, 270. 
Cervera, Admiral, 273, 274. 
Champlain, 91. 

Chancellorsville, battle of, 250. 
Charleston, founded, 80. 

attack on, 138. 

captured, 147. 
Chicago, 267. 
Chickahominy River, 40. 
Chickamauga, battle of, 258. 
Children, colonial, 112. 
China, search for, 1, 8, 64. 
Christmas, celebration of, 68. 
Church, colonial, 112. 
Cibola, seven cities of, 30. 
Clarendon Colony, 80. 
Clark and Lewis, expedition of, 185. 
Clark, George Rogers, 161-164. 
Clay, Henry, 207-211. 
Clermovt, the, 189-192. 
Cleveland, Grover, 270. 
Columbia burned, 260. 
Columbia River, 186. 
Columbus, his earlj' life, 1. 

his trials, 3. 

helped by Isabella, 4-6. 

first voyage of, 7. 

reception in Spain, 11, 12. 

other voyages, 13, 14. 

death of, 15. 
Compromise, Missouri, 210. 

with South Carolina, 220. 
Concord, troops in, 130-132. 
Confederate States, 241. 
Constitution, first written, 58. 
Constitution of United States, 169-171. 
Continental Congress, 139 
Cornwallis, General, 143, 144, 149. 

surrender of, 151. 



Coronado, 30-32. 

Cortez in Mexico, 23. 

Cotton, 173. 

Cotton gin invented, 173-176. 

Croatan, 36. 

Cuba, Columbus at, 12. 

Cuba, 270, 274. 

Customs in the colonies, 112. 

Dare, Virginia, 35. 
Darien, Isthmus of, 18. 
Davis, Jefferson, 

early life, 241, 242. 

purpose of, 243. 

during Civil War, 243. 
Debtors, imprisonment of, 83. 
Decatur, Stephen, 180-183. 
Declaration of Independence, 139, 140. 
Delaware Indians, treaty with, 76-78. 
Delaware River, 143. 
De Soto, march of, 26, 29. 

discovers Mississippi, 29. 

death and burial, 30. 
Detroit, 161. 
Dewey, George, 273. 
Dinwiddle, Governor, 99, 102. 
Discovery of land by Columbus, 9. 
Douglas, Stephen A., 239. 
Doie and Ark, 72. 
DuQucsne, Fort, 100, 103. 
Dutch in New York, 64-69. 

East India Company, 64. 
Edison, Thomas A., 268. 
Eliot, John, 59. 
Elizabeth, Queen, 34. 
Emancipation proclamation, 239- 
Ericsson, 268. 
Erie Canal, 201. 
Exiles from New England, 55. 

Faneuil Hall, 135, 136. 
Farragut, Admiral, 254. 
Ferdinand, 4. 
Ferguson, 150. 
Field, Cyrus W., 224. 
Florida, named, 21. 
Flor'da, picture of, 192. 
Flying machine. 206. 
Fort, French, 99, 102. 

Donelson, 254. 

DuQuesne, 100. 

Henry, 254. 



INDEX 



289 



Fort 

Mimg, 198. 

Moultrie, 138. 

Sumter, 244. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 141. 

practical ideas of, 153, 

on Stamp Act, 156. 

in France, 156. 
Fredericksburg, battle of, 250 
French, in Canada, 91. 

claim Louisiana, 95. 

in Oaio Valley, 99-104. 

surrender territory, 108. 

sell Louisiana, 184. 
Fulton, Robert, 187-192. 

"Folly " of, 188. 

builds Clermont, 189. 

GaRC, General, 129. 

" Game Cock," the, 148, 

Garfield, Jas. A., 270. 

Genoa, 1. 

George II, 84. 

Georgia settled, 83-86. 

Gin, cotton, invented, 173-170. 

Gold discovered in California, 232, 

rush to fields. 233, 234. 
Goliad Massacre, 228. 
Grand Model, the, 81. 
Grant, Gen. U. S.. 253-257. 
Great Meadows, battle of. 101. 
Greene, Gen. Nathanael, 150, 
Greene, Mrs. Nathanael, 174. 
Guam, 274. 
Guerilla warfare, 149. 

Half Moov, the, 64. 
Hamilton, Governor, 163, 164. 
Hancock, John, 129, 131. 141. 
H.arrison, Benjamin, 270. 
Hartford founded, 58. 
Hatteras, Cape, Cabot at, 16, 
Hayes, Rutherford B., 270. 
Havne- Webster debate, 215. 
Hayne, Robert Y., 215. 
Hayti, island of, 12, 13, 15. 
Henrietta Maria, 71. 
Henry, Patrick, 122-125, 161 
Hobson, Lieutenant, 273. 
Hood, General, 259. 
Hooker, Thomas, 58. 
Hooker, Gen. Joseph, 250. 
Hospitality to travelers, 117. 



Houston, Sam, 225-229. 
Howe, General, 136. 
Howe, inventor, 268. 
Hudson, Henry, 64. 
Hudson River explored, 64. 

the Clermont on, 188. 
Hutchinson, Anne, 57 

Iberville, 97. 

Impeachment of Johnson, 264. 
Impressment of seamen, 193. 
Independence, Hall, 139. 

Declaration of, 139, 
India, seaway to, 2-3. 
Indians, named, 11. 

and John Smith, 39. 

praying, 60. 
Inventions. 268. 
Isabella helps Columbus, 4r-6. 

death of, 15 

Jackson, Andrew, youth of, 197. 

at New Orleans, 199. 

President, 220. 

Nullification orders, 219. 
Jackson, Stonewall, 244-248. 
Jamestown, settled, 37. 

burning of, 49. 
Jasper, Sergeant, 138. 
Jefferson, Thomas, 140. 

as a student, 177, 

a/ccomplishments, 177. 

becomes President, 180. 
Johnson, Andrew, 264. 
Johnston, Albert Sidney, 254. 
Johnston, Joseph E., 259. 

Kansas, Coronado in, 31. 
Kaskaskia, 161. 

capture of, 162. 
Kentucky settled, 157-160. 
King's Mountain, battle of, 150, 167, 
Ku Klux Klan, 264. 

Labrador, Cabot at, 16. 
Lafavette, Marquis de, 145. 
La Salle, 95. 

Lee, Richard Henry, 139, 
Lee, Robert E., 249-252. 
Lewis and Clark expedition, 185. 
Lexington, battle of, 132, 133. 
Life in the colonies, 109-111. 



290 



INDEX 



Lincoln, Abraham, 

early life, 236-237. 

debate with Douglas, 239. 

President during Civil War, 239. 

assassinated, 240. 
Livingston, Robert, 189. 
Locke, John, 80. 
Locomotive, the first, 202. 

modern, 205. 

electric, 205. 
Lost colony, the, 34. 
Louisiana, claimed by the French, 95, 96. 

purchased and explored, 184. 
I.usitania, picture of, 191. 

McClellan, Gen. G. B., 249. 
McCormick, 2G8. 
McKinley, William, 270. 
Madagascar, 81. 
Madison, James, 193. 
Magellan, 20. 
Mail and postage, 118. 
Maine, destruction of, 271. 
Manassas, first battle of, 245. 
Manhattan Island, 65. 
Manila Bay, battle of, 273. 
Mansions, colonial, 109, 110, 140. 
March to the sea, 259. 
Marion, Gen. Francis, 147, 148. 
Marquette, Father, 91. 

death of, 94, 95. 
Maryland settled, 70, 71. 
Mason and Dixon's line, 78. 
Massacre, Boston, 126. 

Alamo, 228. 

Goliad. 228. 
Massfisoit, 53, 61. 
Mayflower, 51, 52. 

Mecklenburg County, people of, 133. 
Menlo Park, Wizard of, 269. 
Mexico, Cortez in, 23. 

war with, 230. 
Michigan, Lake, 94. 
Mill boy of the slashes, 207. 
Mills, cotton in the South, 176. 
Mississippi, discovered, 29. 

explored, 91. 
Missouri Compromise, 210, 211. 
Missouri River, 93. 
Mobile Bay, 97. 

Farragut in, 254. 
Model, the Grand, 81. 
Monongahela River, 100. 



Monroe Doctrine, 201. 

Monroe, James, 200. 

Montcalm, Marquis de, 100, 108. 

Montgomery, Ala., 241. 

Montreal, 98. 

Morse invents the telegraph, 221-224. 

Moultrie, Fort, 138. 

Mount Vernon, 171, 172. 

Narragansett Indians, 53, 61. 

uprising of, 62. 
Narvaez, adventures of, 24-26. 
Nashville, founded, 165. 

Jackson at, 197. 
Negro slavery introduced, 44. 
New Amsterdam settled, 64. 
Newfoundland, Cabot at, 16. 
New Hampshire, 109. 
New Jersey, retreat across, 142. 
New Netherland, 65. 
New Orleans, founded, 98 

purchased, 184. 

battle of, 199. 

Farragut in, 254. 
Newport founded, 57. 
Newspapers, 118. 
New York, beginning of, 65. 

named, 69. 

attacked by British, 142. 

Washington inaugurated at, 172. 
Nina, The, 8. 
Nolichucky Jack, 166. 
North Carolina, beginning of, 80. 

naming of, 82. 
Northwest Territory, 161, 164. 
Nullification, in South Carolina, 219. 

Oglethorpe, James, 84. 
Ohio River, 93. 
Ohio Vallev, 98. 
" Old Hickory," 199. 
Omaha, 186. 

Pacific Ocean, Balboa's sight of, 20. 

Magellan on, 20. 
Palos, 8. 
Panama, Isthmus of, 15. 

Canal, 275-278. 
Parker, Captain John, 132. 
Parsons Case, 123. 
Peninsular Campaign, 249. 
Penn, William, 73. 

and Charles, 74. 

treaty with Indians, 76-78. 



INDEX 



291 



Pennsylvania, granted, 74. 

settled, 75. 
Pensacola, 97. 
Perry, Oliver H.. 195. 
Philadelphia, the, 182. 
Philadelphia, founded, 75. 

captured, 146. 

Constitutional Convention at, 169. 
Philip, King, 61-63. 
Philippine Islands, Magellan discovers, 20. 

ceded to United States, 274. 
Pickett's charge, 252. 
Pilgrims, landing of, 51-52. 
Pillory and s.tocks, 113. 
Pinta, the, 8, 9. 
Pirates, Barbary, 180. 
Pitcairn, Major, 132. 
Pittsburg, 100. 
Plymouth, settlement of, 49-52. 

progress of, 53. 
Pocahontas, 40-43. 

Ponce de Leon names Florida, 21, 22, 23. 
Pony Express, 267. 
Pope, Gen. John, 250. 
Porto Rico, 21. 

ceded to United States, 274. 
Portsmouth, founded, 57. 
Postage stamps, 118. 
Potato, use of, 35. 
Powhatan, 40, 41. 
Princeton, battle of, 143. 
Printing press, old,' 117. 
Providence, founded, 56. 
Pullman, 268. 
Punishments, colonial, 113. 
Puritans at Plymouth, 45, 50. 
Putnam, Israel, 133. 

Quakers, 73-76. 
Quebec, founded, 91. 
captured, 105-108. 

Railroads, 202, 

early, 203. 
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 34. 
Rebecca, Lady, 42. 
Rebellion, Bacon's. 47. 
Reconstruction of Southern States, 263. 
Revere, Paul, 130. 
Rhode Island, beginning of, 56. 
Rice, in Carolina, 81. 
Richmond, Va., 241, 245. 
Roanoke Island, 35. 



Robertson, James, 165. 
Rolfe, John, 42. 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 275. 

St. Augustine, bombarded, 87. 

St. Lawrence River, 91. 

St. Louis, 186. 

St. Mary's, 72. 

St. Simon's Island, 87. 

Salem, founded, 54. 

witchcraft, 114. 
Salzburghers, 86. 
Samoset, 53. 
Sampson, Captain, 273. 
San Jacinto, battle of, 228. 
San Salvador, island of, 11. 
Santa Anna, 228. 
Santa Maria, the, 8. 
Santiago de Cuba, 273. 
Saratoga, battle of, 145. 
Savannah, the, 190, 192. 
Savannah River, De Soto at, 29. 
Savannah founded, 85. 

patriots at, 134. 

captured by British, 147. 

captured by Sherman, 260. 
Schley, Commodore, 273. 
Scott, Gen. Winfield, 230. 
Settlers, life of. 111. 
Sevier, John, 166, 167. 
Shafter, General, 274. 
Shenandoah Valley, 247. 
Sherman, Gen. W. T., 25R 
Sherrill, Kate, 166. 
Shiloh, battle of, 254. 
Slavery, introduction of, 44. 

in New England, 121. 

in the South, 121. 

disputes over, 210. 

in the West, 234. 

different views of, 235. 

settled by war, 262. 
Slaves, in Carolina, 82. 

in colonies, 119. 

trade in, 119. 

ships and dealers, 119. 
Smith, Captain John, 38. 

saved by Pocahontas, 41. 
South, progress of, 265. 
South Carolina, beginning of, 80. 

naming of, 82. 
South Sea, Balboa names, 20. 
Spain, war with, 270. 



292 



INDEX 



Spaniards, purpose in America, 32. 

invade Georgia, 87-89. 
Sports of colonists, 111. 
Squanto, 53. 
Stage coach, 116. 
Stamp Act, 123. 

Franklin on, 154. 
Standish, Miles, 51, 52. 
Starving time, the, 43. 
Stuyvesant, Peter, 67, 69. 
Sumter, Fort, 244, 245. 
Sumter, Gen. Thomas. 148. 
Sunday in the colonies, 112. 
Surrender of Lee, 261. 
" Swamp Fox," the, 148. 
Swansea attacked, 62. 

Taft, Wm. H., 275. 
Tallapoosa River, 198. 
Tariff, for revenue, 214. 

for protection, 214. 
Taxation without representation, 122. 
Taylor, Gen. Zachary, 230. 
Tea Party, Boston, 128. 
Tea, tax on, 127. 
Tecumseh, 198. 
Telegraph invented, 221, 222. 
Telephone, 269. 
Texas, independence of, 225-229. 

admitted to Union, 229. 
Thanksgiving, the first, 54. 
Tobacco, 35, 44. 

paid for wives, 46. 

in Carolina, 81. 
Traveling, colonial times, 116. 
Treaty, Penn's, 76-78. 

French and English. 108. 

England and America, 151 

with Mexico, 230. 

Orgeon territory, 231 

Portsmouth, 275. 
Trenton, battle of, 143. 

Washington at, 172. 
Trinidad, island of, 13. 
Tripoli, war with, ISO, 



Valladolid, 15. 
Valley Campaign, 247. 
Valley Forge, 146. 
Vespuccius, Americua, 17. 
Vicksburg, siege of, 255. 
Vincennes, 161. 

capture of, 163, 164. 
Virginia, named, 34. 

settled, 37. 

Wampanoags, 61. 
War, King Philip's, 61. 

French and Indian, 101. 

Revolution, 122. 

with Tripoli, 180. 

of 1812. 193. 

with Mexico. 230. 

Civil. 235-262. 

Spanish, 270. 
Washington City, founded, 172. 

captured by British, 194. 
Washiniiiton. George, 99. 

Braddock's aide, 102, 104. 

commander-in-chief, 134. 

before Boston, 136. 

in Revolution, 142-146, 151. 

the first President, 171. 

death of, 172. 
Watauga settlement, 165. 
Webster. Daniel, 212-215. 
West, growth of, 267. 
West Point Academy, 247, 249. 
White, John, 35. 
Whitney, Eli, 173-175. 
Williams, Roger, 55. 
Williamsburg, 100. 
Wisconsin River, 93. 
Witchcraft, belief in, 113, 114. 
Wives for colonists, 45. 
Wolfe, James, 105-108. 

Yamacraw Indians, 85. 
Yellowstone River, 186. 
Yorktown, 150, 151. 



%% « 



S ESSENTIAL FACTS 



OF 



AMERICAN HISTORY 

By LAWTON B. EVANS, A.M. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, AUGUSTA. GA. 



THE book represents the author's effort to make 
the history of our country interesting to the 
school children in the upper grammar grades, 
and therefore easily taught and long remembered. 
The child has been kept in mind at every stage of 
the writing, for by the test of his ability to under- 
stand and his interest to learn will the usefulness of 
the book be measured. In order to touch the 
history of the United States in all its great epochs, 
many facts and figures have been omitted which 
have heretofore found their way into the older books. 
The chapters are in themselves units, and each repre- 
sents some 'significant idea of value. That the 
author has made each chapter short and the treat- 
ment terse should commend itself to those who have 
to do with the daily routine of the schoolroom. 



BENJ. H. SANBORN & COMPANY 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



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